Prince Charles examines Anglo-Saxon gold treasures

The Prince of Wales inspected treasures from the country's largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold yesterday, becoming the first royal to handle the artefacts for more than 1,300 years.

Prince Charles was given the chance to examine three items from the Staffordshire Hoard, including a crumpled cross and a sword handle, during a visit to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.

Accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince also chatted with the farmer on whose land the Hoard was found near Lichfield last summer.

Museum officials said Prince Charles and the Duchess had been fascinated by the craftsmanship of the processional cross, even inquiring whether it could be straightened out.

More than 100 pieces of the treasure, which has been dated to the seventh century and is believed to have belonged to ancient kings, are currently on show at the museum.

The museum's principal collections officer, Deb Klemperer, showed the royal couple around the exhibition during their visit to mark the centenary of the federation of Stoke-on-Trent's six towns.

Speaking after the hour-long visit, Ms Klemperer said: "It was the first time a royal had handled what was a royal collection in 1,300 years, and he kept asking questions about the workmanship, which you might expect as he is an archaeology graduate."

During the visit, Ms Klemperer said, the Prince also asked how much had been raised to buy the Hoard, which has been valued at more than £3 million.

Praising the Prince for his support for the fundraising campaign, which aims to acquire the Hoard for display in the West Midlands and Staffordshire, Ms Klemperer added that Prince Charles had expressed hope that the cross could be "unfolded".

"I explained that scientists would need to look at that to see if that can in fact happen," the official told reporters.

Fred Johnson, who owns the field where the Hoard was discovered, admitted to feeling a little bit daunted before his meeting with Prince Charles.

The 65-year-old, who farms land near Hammerwich, Staffordshire, stressed that he felt privileged rather than proud that the Hoard had been unearthed on his land.

"You can be proud of something you have done yourself - this was just an incredible stroke of luck," he said.

The royal visitors also passed a towering Minton statue of a peacock as they toured the ceramics section of the museum, which was opened by Prince Charles in 1981.

Around 10,000 visitors have passed through the museum since part of the Hoard went on display five days ago, and more than £825,000 has been raised to acquire the treasure since a public appeal was launched earlier this year.

Councillor Hazel Lyth, Stoke City Council's Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Culture, said: "The Staffordshire Hoard has sparked the imagination of people from across the globe - the amount of treasures and some of the types of items have simply never been seen before.

"It is a wonderful glimpse into our ancient past and we are thrilled to give Their Royal Highnesses the chance to see and handle some of these treasures."

The prince and the duchess later visited Hanley's Bethesda Chapel, which was built in 1819, to view restoration work undertaken by the Historic Chapels Trust.

They then moved on to Stoke Town Hall, attending a reception to commemorate the centenary of Stoke-on-Trent.

During a day-long series of engagements, the couple also toured the Emma Bridgewater pottery in Hanley, which has defied the recession to increase its workforce.

The royal visitors were given a guided tour of the factory, stopping to watch the work of plate-maker Bill Malkin on a machine thought to be around 60 years old.

Mr Malkin, from Birches Head, north Staffordshire, said it meant a lot to him that the Prince of Wales had taken the time to show an interest in traditional manufacturing methods.

"When I started work in 1962, they were throwing these machines away in their thousands," the 62-year-old recalled.

Kiln manager Alan Goldsmith, who has worked for Bridgewater for 21 years, said the firm now employs around 170 staff.

Asked how the company had coped with the economic downturn, Mr Goldsmith replied: "We have increased (production) rather than slackened - everywhere is on short-time and we have had overtime and are setting people on."

After the factory tour, both royal visitors hand-decorated a plate at the Emma Bridgewater site before moving on to Tunstall's Dudson pottery, where they also met staff.