The Duke of Kent, Prince Edward, walked the heights of the National Arboretum on Sunday morning alongside prominent green-thumbs and ACT Minister for Municipal Services Shane Rattenbury.
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The Duke, who was visiting Canberra to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Anzac Day, signed the arboretum's visitors book before pausing to inspect a tree planted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a year ago.
While Canberra welcomed Prince Edward, his family were looking after final preparations for the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's second child.
The Duke of Kent, who is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was welcomed by Friends of the National Arboretum chair Jocelyn Plovits and spent several minutes inspecting the Hawthorn variety of bonsai.
Shannon Young, the assistant curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia, said the Duke had an impressive knowledge of bonsai and recognised several species.
"He mentioned that he had seen the bonsai in Japan and he commented that it was extraordinary that Australia had its own eucalyptus bonsai collection," he said.
As the president of Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Duke also viewed the Lone Pine plantings at the arboretum
Mr Rattenbury said he was pleased to see the Duke enjoying himself and appreciating the role of the arboretum in Canberra.
"He really had an appreciation for the arboretum and all the effort that gone into it by volunteers. He was also very taken back with the playground here and seeing all the children having such a good time," he said.
"It's an adventurous playground and he commented on the fact that children these days are perhaps wrapped up in cotton wool.
"He was pleased to see something that has an element of risk and kids have to push themselves a little bit."
Mr Rattenbury said the arboretum had become a much-loved destination for the Canberra community and had attracted more than one million visitors since opening 2013.
The Duke of Kent was one of more than 100,000 people who stood in silence outside the Australian War Memorial, as crowds spilled down Limestone Avenue and Anzac Parade.
Mr Rattenbury said he was delighted by the number of people who had woken early on Anzac Day to attend the dawn services at the Australian War Memorial.
"It was an extraordinary day down there and it was nice to see so many people being a very respectful and reflective crowd," he said.
"I think people were taking on board that it was such a big occasion and it was a perfect Canberra morning for it."
