AT 79m long, 11m wide and weighing in at a whopping 1,260 tonnes, this luxurious and stunning motoryacht is fit for a prince - which is a good thing, because it is owned by one.

Southampton was the setting for an unofficial royal visit this week when the Danish Royal Yacht HDMS Dannebrog sailed into port.

Meeting the yacht was none other than Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat, better known as the Prince Consort of Denmark.

His Royal Highness, pictured below at Ascot with Queen Margreth, flew into Heathrow before being chauffeured to Southampton accompanied by British Diplomatic Protection officers.

The prince, 73, joined his vessel at Berth 48 in the city's Eastern Docks shortly after 1pm and the craft left about an hour later.

ABP Deputy Port Manager Steven Young said: "It was just a flying visit for His Royal Highness. He arrived and left again within an hour. He boarded the yacht in a similar fashion about two years ago."

To see a picture of the royal yacht, see today's Southern Daily Echo