Being called 'Pommy bastard' in Oz shaped my character: Prince Charles

Sydney, Jan 27 (ANI): While sympathising with Australia over its recent devastating floods, Prince Charles revealed his 'huge affection' for the Australians who called him a 'Pommy bastard' in his youth and said it helped him shape his character.

The Prince of Wales used an Australia Day function at the High Commission in London to speak about the endurance he learnt when a student at Geelong Grammar's Timbertop school in Victoria in 1966, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

He said that his royal standing did not mean he escaped teasing at the Australian school he attended.

"I have gone through my fair share of being called a Pommy bastard, I can assure you of that," he said to roars of laughter and an ovation from the gathering.

"But look what it has done for me. My God, it was good for the character. If you want to develop character, go to Australia," he added.

The Prince, who arrived with his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, also praised the Queensland and Victoria flood victims' 'extraordinary ability to survive, endure and somehow made jokes about the horror'.

"Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones, who have been incredibly badly affected by this appalling natural disaster," he said.

"I could not get over just reading about the ladies that are busily shooting brown snakes trying to get into their houses, dealing with the crocodiles and the spiders and god knows what and all the things I remember so well ... let alone the ants," he added. (ANI)