Prince Charles was named Londoner of the Decade at an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday (07.09.16).
The 67-year-old royal was "touched and surprised" to receive the honour at the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 party.
He said: "I am most touched and, indeed, surprised, that the Evening Standard should have decided to give me the award of Londoner of the Decade.
"I have to confess I am not entirely sure whether to be pleased or alarmed. Perhaps I am losing my touch when such eminent newspapers start giving me achievement awards! So I set to wondering what this achievement might have been.
"As I suppose I have spent most of my life trying to propose and initiate things that very few people could see the point of or, frankly, thought were plain bonkers at the time, perhaps some of them are now beginning to recognise a spot of pioneering in all this apparent madness."
The Prince of Wales – who is first in line to the British throne – was recognised for his work with the Prince’s Trust, which he set up in 1976. The trust has helped more then 800,000 children since its inception with over 5,000 coming from London.
The royal was also honoured for his work with The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, which encourages people to have a say in how they’d like their town to be developed.
He added: "The most successful communities mix the private with affordable housing; enclose green spaces within squares and communal gardens; provide good quality housing integrated with walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods; good public transport and an identity that fosters pride and a sense of belonging.
"It is these qualities which attract so many people to London and, time and again, this is the sort of development that various surveys reveal is what many people would prefer to see."
Prince Charles named Londoner of the Decade
