Prince Charles genuinely baffled by rubbish bin at Commonwealth Games

When it comes to true-blue Aussie treasures, the great nation has plenty on offer.

And when Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Broadbeach as part of their Commonwealth Games tour yesterday, some local Gold Coast students made sure they had one of our best on show — the humble Aussie wheelie bin.

The British royal appeared baffled by the wheelie bin displayed by Robina State High School students, who were explaining to the prince how they're doing their bit for the environment.

"And what is this?" Prince Charles asked the students, while opening up the lid of the bin before laughing and dropping it back down.

"Oh no! That's our bin! Don't open that!," the year 12 student said in horror before awkwardly laughing along with the prince.

Charles opened the bin to check out the local trash. Photo / News.com.au

But it wasn't just the standard Aussie Otto that confused the British royal.

While the Robina State High students were chatting to him about doing their bit, a cheeky little boy caught Prince Charles' attention with his green stress ball.

Right in the middle of the talk, a cheeky and outspoken little boy briefly pulled the prince's attention.

"Hi Prince Charles! Hi Camilla!" he yelled.

"What is that disgusting thing?" Prince Charles asked the unfazed youngster.

"Um, it's a squishy ball," he replied.

Charles was not impressed by a young boy and his squishy ball. Photo / News.com.au

"But you can't make it pop?" Prince Charles asked, before remembering he was learning about the environment and turning back to his lesson.

Despite the brief interruption, the students from Robina State High didn't mind, describing the prince as "down to earth" and having a "lovely heart".

"He asked us if we were on holidays and we said 'yes' and he said, 'I'm sorry you have to be here in your uniform'," Robina High student Andrew Wong told news.com.au.

The British royal and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge were in Broadbeach to be presented with the final marker for the city's historic Commonwealth Walkway.