WITH arms outstretched and suspended by giant wings, this is the Prince of Wales in a loin cloth and, as the Brazilians will remember him, as "Saviour" of the world.
This 2ft statue depicting Prince Charles as an angel is the model for a 12ft high bronze which, with the Prince's permission, will be erected in a town square in the middle of the Amazon rainforest and named Prince Charles Square in his honour.
The statue is a tribute from the people of Tocantins State, the remote Amazon region, which prides itself on its enlightened attitude to environmental issues. Its capital, Palmas, where the statue will be placed, likes to call itself the "eco-city of the third millennium".
It is the region's affinity with Prince Charles's eco-friendly campaigning that inspired local sculptor Mauricio Bentes, who studied the facial features of his royal subject on the internet in an attempt to capture a true likeness.
The depiction of him as an angel is, no doubt, a sculptural metaphor for the Prince's almost evangelical stance on environmental issues.
"It is Prince Charles saving the world," said Jose Wilson Sequeira Campos, the governor of Tocantins, who sprang the surprise gift on Prince Charles as he toured a research station in the middle of the rainforest swamp.
The Prince was presented with the model and professed himself "amazed" and "deeply touched".
The statue shows him hovering over a sea of humanity, casting a benign look downwards with his arms in open embrace.
There is a passing resemblance facially. As to the "six pack", it was difficult to judge as the Prince sweltered in the jungle heat attired in loose khaki jacket and trousers.
The Prince reached the remote Cangacu research centre on Ilha do Bananal by plane and then helicopter. The final leg of the journey was made by motorboat.
Earlier, he was given a traditional welcome by Karaja Indians, one of the rainforest's remaining 218 indigenous groups.
Yesterday, he arrived in Mexico for the final part of his week-long tour.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbHLnp6rmaCde6S7ja6iaKaVrMBww86ro52mlazAcL%2FOrquhmZ2av6qvwGiZq5mqnrlwfZJxbmlsaGSOrq3ZqKVmrKKer7bAxGarqGVzna6zuMSsZK2glWK6sLDEpWSepqaev7C6zJ6lrZmcnsC1esetpKU%3D