The Prince of Wales has come face to face with a true king of the jungle, as he reached to touch hands with a five-foot orangutan.

The Prince had travelled deep into the Borneo rainforest to see endangered orangutans in the wild.

The Prince looked on in awe as six of the great apes visited a feeding spot at the Semenggoh Wildlife Rehab centre, offering them a banana.

Wearing a cream suit and tie, he walked over to where two of the orangutans that had descended from a tree and held the fruit out.

The orangutan then reached out to the Prince, appearing to touch hands for a split second.