The Prince of Wales topped off the first of his four day visit to Wales by paying tribute to Ceredigion's flood rescue heroes as well as paying a visit to his son William's workplace.
Parts of the west Wales county were left under 5ft of water following heavy rainfall - causing millions of pounds worth of damage to properties and holiday homes.
The damage appeared to strike a chord with the Prince, who made a "generous" donation to an appeal fund for the flood victims.
He made a flying visit to Aberystwyth, via an RAF Rescue helicopter, to meet householders affected by the flooding as well as emergency crews involved in the rescue operations.
Among those having a date by Royal appointment was local couple Richard and Barbara Hogger - whose home in Capel Bangor, near Aberystwyth, was damaged by eight inches of water.
Mr Hogger, 64, said: "The Prince's arrival here today does mean an awful lot to people like us who were affected by the floods.
"It's been a month since it happened, but the clean-up operation is still ongoing for many."
Prince Charles' first day in Wales included a visit to see the Duke of Cambridge
Mrs Hogger, 64, said her treasured Bosendorfer piano bought by her father was among the items damaged.
"Getting to meet the Prince was a special moment, and it shows that he really does care," she added.
"But in a way you rather wish you were meeting him for another reason."
The Prince and Duchess of Cornwall's visit to the Canolfan Rheidol in Aberystwyth came exactly a month on from the flooding.
The deluge affected more than 1,000 people, with 150 people rescued and 75 properties damaged.
An appeal fund has since been launched by Ceredigion County Council - which has topped £70,000 to date.
Council leader Ellen ap Gwynn said the was a strong community spirit in the region.
"People have suffered a traumatic experience in these floods and as a community and council we've got to do what we can to do to help put things back," she said.
"We are very grateful to the Prince for the donation he made to the appeal.
"It was most generous of him."
Local resident Angela James, whose firefighter son Liam Hinton-Jones was involved the rescue effort, said she believed there was a strong affinity between Charles and Aberystwyth.
The 50-year-old mother-of-four said: "The older people from Aber remember when Prince Charles came to study here in his teens.
"He was approachable back then and today's visit strengthens that bond with the town.
"So as a mother and a royalist, I'm so proud of my son for what he did in the flood as well as getting to meet Prince Charles."
Earlier in the day, Charles was given a real royal welcome to RAF Valley in Anglesey by his rescue pilot son William.
Prince Charles spent some time in son William's 'office'
However, his meeting with William was delayed for several minutes following an emergency call out to fly a badly injured hill-walker to hospital.
As well as meeting colleagues who work alongside William, Charles visited the base's operations room and its "ready rack" where rescue crews store their kit.
Flight Lieutenant Wales, as the Duke of Cambridge is known in the military, took to the captain's seat in the cockpit of the Sea King, while Charles occupied the co-pilot's seat as his son showed him the controls of the aircraft.
William, 30, has been part of C Flight 22 Squadron at RAF Valley since January 2010 and last month qualified as an operational captain within the search and rescue force after two years flying as a co-pilot.
The Duke was on 15-minute standby to respond to an emergency, but although a call came through during the royal visit, William's flight commander was instead scrambled to reports of an injured man who had fallen on Cader Idris in Snowdonia.
After Charles had left RAF Valley, of which he is the Honorary Air Commodore, William's commanding officer played down the emergency call-out as an ordinary activity for the base, which also trains fast-jet pilots.
Wing Commander Mark "Sparky" Dunlop, officer commanding of 22 Search and Rescue Squadron, said: "I think everyone works very hard to make sure that William is treated very much as with any other airman.
"Obviously there are some differences with security arrangements, but William is a Royal Air Force officer - a qualified search and rescue captain doing a professional job just the same as the rest of us."