On a tour of the palace's school, Charles met pupils in a reception class, before planting a tree in the garden to mark his visit.

BBC: NEWS | South Asia | Prince Charles gets into Indian groove

However, Mr Ayling added that "different skills" were now needed to ensure the public "enjoys the best possible experience" when they visit the Dome and to "make it a first-class visitor attraction".

BBC: Sponsors 'called for Dome resignation'

During a recent visit to Central America, he noted that working-class Americans want no part of immigration reform in the midst of an economic crisis.

CNN: Commentary: Do Obama, Biden agree on immigration?

But he is leading a research team that plans to visit dozens of schools in New York City and around the state to investigate class size, curriculum, safety and other issues.

WSJ: School Spending Under Microscope

On a visit to London's prestigious Bartlett School, Quest takes a crash course in design, lends his ideas to a class project and tries to understand why it takes architects so long to get their hands on a real building.

CNN: A Quest to build