Eleven years of campaigning came to fruition when Prince Charles officially opened a research centre at Oxford's Warneford Hospital.

Prince Charles enjoys a joke during his visit to the Warneford Hospital

SANE, the mental health charity, first launched its fundraising campaign for its £6m Prince of Wales International Research Centre in 1991.

Since then the prince, a patron of the charity, has supported the appeal and laid the foundation stone for the building during a visit to the hospital in 1995.

SANE staff, management, other patrons including Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley, and former Health Minister Paul Boateng, now Chief Secretary to the Treasury, were at the event.

The prince was met by Marjorie Wallace, the charity's chief executive, who was the driving force behind the centre. SANE was formed following a mental health campaign in The Times written by Ms Wallace, on The Forgotten Illness.

Prince Charles said: "I can't tell you all how pleased and glad I am to be here today.

"I remember visiting Marjorie's first mental health helpline centre. It was a wonderfully brave and determined venture, and difficult to get off the ground. Finding the support and funding for it wasn't easy.

"She has battled on for all these years and has managed to encourage a huge amount of support, and we see so much of it represented here today."

The prince chatted to specialists at the centre who are looking at the relationship between mental illness and the development of language, and parts of the brain.