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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been welcomed onto Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia.
A powhiri was held to welcome Prince Charles and Camilla onto the marae in front of about 1,000- strong crowd today.
In addressing the crowd, Prince Charles said he was greatly honoured to be welcomed by Waikato-Tainui people and onto their Ngaruawahia-based Marae.
It was also an exciting time for his wife, Camilla, who was visiting for the first time, he said.
He recalled his last visit to the Marae, in 1994, when he was hosted by Dame Te Atairangikaahu and said he was "greatly saddened to hear of her passing" in 2006.
"She was also an extraordinary leader who shaped your people through change with quiet dignity. I was greatly saddened by her passing and can only hope that the message I sent at that time was of some comfort."
Earlier, Pou Temara, speaking on behalf of all this tribes in welcoming the Royal couple, generated a bit of laughter after bringing up the All Blacks great Rugby World Cup win.
"You have come at a tumultuous time when the country has turned into the biggest rugby stadium in the world with its capacity 4.5 million people and they are enraptured ... And resulted in you asking yourself the question of what the hell am I going to say to the Aussies.
"Well I've got a few ideas. You may tell them the truth and you may tell them that they are the second best rugby nation in the world and that we are the best."
However, the Governor General's kaumatua Lewis Moeau, created a short murmur from the crowd after wrongly addressing the Duchess of Cornwall as the Duchess of Kent in his speech.
Police commissioner Mike Bush is amongst those in attendance along with Hamilton city councillors and Waikato Mayor Alan Sanson.
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