King Charles engages in hilarious banter with veteran of World War II: 'Tact is my middle name'

King Charles, who's currently on his first tour of Lincolnshire since the Coronation, mingled with veterans of World War II as he visited to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in Lincoln on Monday.

The 74-year-old monarch was taken on a tour of RAF Coningsby and even sat down for an afternoon tea to mark the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters raids.

Prince William and Prince Harry's father shared a joke with a veteran who admired his RAF tie during his visit.

The newly crowned King wore a beige suit and his official RAF red-and-navy striped tie - which caught the eye of one of the veterans he spoke with during the visit.

While sitting down for some tea and cake, a retired member of the RAF said: 'I see you have an aircraft tie on.'

King Charles, who was all smiles and in high spirits during the visit, joked in response, saying: "Tact is my middle name!"

Royal family took to its official Twitter account to share the pictures from the King's historic visit, captioning: "The King has joined veterans of World War 2 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Chastise at the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

"@RAFBBMF maintains and operates 10 historic aircraft in memory of those who have fallen in the service of this country."

The King was greeted by station commander Group Captain Billy Cooper as he arrived at the RAF base. He looked around a Lancaster bomber, as well as Spitfires and Hurricanes Squadron Leader Mark Sugden, after sitting down to talk to veterans and current RAF crew who fly the 80-year-old planes to commemorate the valour of the wartime generation.

'Thank God for all these men,' Charles said. 'People like you who looked after us.'

The monarch recalled struggling to fly a Shackleton bomber when he was younger and spoke to Bomber Command veterans about their experiences of flying missions over enemy territory.

'Being shot at all the time,' he said. 'The horror of it.'

Charles also met 102-year-old Frank Tolley, who was so horrified by the German air raids on Coventry that he joined the Bomber Command. He was also introduced to 101-year-old Dr James Burt - who joined the RAF after graduating from St Andrews and is one of the oldest WWII medics.