Prince Charles has surgery to remove 'minor' growth on face

The Prince of Wales has had a non-cancerous growth removed from his face in a minor procedure, it emerged yesterday.

Details of the heir to throne's treatment were released after he was spotted sporting a small, hexagonal plaster on the right side of his nose at a tree-planting ceremony.

Clarence House would not discuss details of what they described as a 'minor surgical procedure', stating only that it was 'a routine and minor matter'.

It is understood that it was performed at Clarence House, his London residence, after a meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Intriguingly, a close examination of photographs of the prince's face show no obvious sign of a growth, wart or skin tag - although there is an area of slightly mottled skin.

The royal family do, however, have a history of receiving treatment for growths on their faces.

Charles' father, the Duke of Edinburgh, underwent a minor procedure in 1996 to erase a small benign growth on his nose.

In January 2003 the Queen also had minor - non-cancerous - growths removed from her face by surgeons.

A senior royal source cautioned concern, saying of the prince's treatment 'It really is very, very minor.'

Certainly he showed no signs of discomfort as he performed a public engagement in the grounds of his home at Highgrove, near Tetbury in Gloucestershire.

During the tree planting event Charles - who wore a grey suit, blue shirt, red tie and a white carnation on his lapel - took up a shovel and planted an oak sapling to mark the official end of the Gloucestershire 1,000 Trees campaign.

Like the rest of his family the future king, who celebrates his 60th birthday in November this year,  enjoys good health - apart from a recurrent bad back as a result of his days playing polo.

His love for the sport, which he is now retired from, saw him suffer a  double fracture in his right arm following a fall in 1990 from which he is said to still suffer twinges of pain.

In 1992, he had an operation to repair torn knee cartilage, again after a polo injury and a year later was hurt again while taking part in a match in Windsor, aggravating his old back injury.

In August 2001, Charles was also knocked unconscious when his horse threw him during a game.