The Prince of Wales threw his weight into the debate about healthy eating today and told a nutritionist that the “key” was to ban McDonald’s fast food restaurants.

The controversial remarks were made as the Prince was in Abu Dhabi attending the launch of a public health awareness campaign aimed at fighting diabetes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He visited the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre and watched as a group of children chose from a selection of “good” and “bad” snacks for their school packed lunches.

Talking to Nadine Tayara, a nutritionist from the centre who had put the children through their paces, he asked her: “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.”

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said Charles’s remark was “disappointing”.

Other members of his family had visited the chain, she said, and “have probably got a more up-to-date picture of us.”

The spokeswoman added: “This appears to be an off-the-cuff remark, in our opinion. It does not reflect our menu or where we are as a business.”

Charles was clearly unaware of some of the moves the company has made, she said, such as improved labelling, supporting sustainable agriculture and nutritional changes with choice and variety.

In August 2005 Prince Harry popped into a McDonald's for a "buy one get one free" meal. He is reported to have bought two chicken burgers and a strawberry milkshake, eating the meal on the pavement outside.

His brother, Prince William, was pictured queuing up for a meal at McDonald’s in January 1992.

A Clarence House spokesman, travelling with the Prince and Duchess on their ten-day tour of the Gulf, later issued a statement.

It said: “The Prince of Wales has for a long time advocated the importance of a balanced diet, especially for children. In visiting the diabetes centre today, he was keen to emphasise the need for children to enjoy the widest variety of food and not to eat any particular sort of food to excess.”

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