next Image 1 of 2

prev Image 2 of 2

Britain's Prince Charles on Wednesday started a three-day official visit to Greece, the birthplace of his father and kingdom of his paternal great-grandfather.

The heir to the British throne met Greece's radical left prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who told him that the visit was a landmark in the two countries' relations.

Charles was accompanied on his trip by his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Greek public opinion is staunchly anti-royalist. The country has been a republic since 1973.

The prince is due to meet the head of Greece's Orthodox Church on Thursday, and visit a 108-year-old warship that now serves as a floating museum berthed in Athens.

The Greek armored cruiser was used in 1946 to carry the body of Charles' paternal grandfather, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, from southern France where he died to Athens, for burial in a royal estate outside the city.

On Friday, the royal couple will visit the southern island of Crete.

The Prince of Wales has visited the country several times in a private capacity, showing particular interest in the Greek Orthodox monastic community of Mount Athos — a wooded peninsula in the north forbidden to women for the past thousand years.

His father, Prince Philip, was born on the northwestern Greek island of Corfu, but left while very young after his own father was banished. Charles' great-grandfather was King George I of Greece, the country's longest-reigning monarch.