Prince Charles escaped unhurt after the car he was driving had a shunt with a deer on the Queen’s Scottish estate.
The heir to the throne was driving an Audi A4 Allroad Estate in Balmoral when the accident happened.
He wasn’t hurt but the vehicle was left so badly damaged that a specialist mechanic was despatched to the royal estate in the Highlands to repair it.
A Clarence House spokeswoman refused to comment on the crash, which happened in recent days within the Balmoral Estate when the prince was driving during a break from official duties.
Sources said the car was left “badly damaged” but though shaken by the smash the Prince was not injured.
It is not known if the deer survived.
The source added: “Red Deer are a hazard on the roads up here and most drivers have had a brush with them at some point.
“Charles is a careful driver but sometimes they dash out on the road and there’s little you can do. He’ll have got a hell of a fright.”
The car is the latest in a line of Audis driven by Charles.
The powerful A4 Allroad has a top speed of 155mph and does 0-60 in just 5.5 seconds.
Balmoral is playing host to a huge royal gathering this week, and Charles was pictured at the weekend enjoying a drive in his new motor.
Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge flew into Aberdeen last Thursday for a short holiday in the Highlands at the invitation of the Queen.
They were accompanied by their two children, three-year-old Prince George and one-year-old Princess Charlotte, and followed a few hours later by Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.
On Saturday, Carole was spotted being driven around the estate by the Queen herself as the pair made their way back from a grouse shoot together.
It came just a few hours after the Queen drove Kate to meet up with Prince William for a picnic lunch on the hills above Lake Muick.
On Sunday, Carole and Michael joined the royal family as they headed out to church near Balmoral, the Queen’s summer residence.
While the 90-year-old monarch and Prince Philip rode in the back of their own chauffeured car, William opted to drive Kate to the service himself.
Like his son, Prince Charles also took the wheel of an Audi as he travelled to the church with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Princess Anne is also currently at the estate after she was forced to cancel her royal engagements to recover from a bad chest infection, and it is thought that Prince Harry might also join the royal family in Balmoral after returning from a six-week charity trip to Africa on Thursday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to England this week, ahead of their highly-anticipated week-long tour of Canada.