Oct 7, 2009, 11:01 GMT
Britain's Prince Philip is furious after his truffle farm failed to produce any of the delicacies.
The outspoken royal splashed out £5,000 on truffle-impregnated trees to plant in the one-acre area at Norfolk's Sandringham estate three years ago, but when sniffer dogs were unleashed last month they didn't find a single treat.
An estate worked joked: "He is now beginning to realise why truffles are so b****y expensive!"
A source explained: "We thought the dogs might find some truffles growing below the surface of the ground but, sadly, they turned up nothing on this occasion.
"We are confident, through, that truffle spores are present. Patience, we are learning, is a virtue."
Philip is undeterred by the setback, and is adamant the farm will bear fruit in coming years.
The 88-year-old prince discovered he might be able to farm black truffles - which can be sold for £900 a kilo and are jokingly referred to as 'black diamonds' - three years ago.
He bought 300 special trees which would help with cultivation, and planted them in an orchard alongside his apple, gooseberry and blackcurrant plants.
It is understood the prince is hoping to grow truffles for use in Sandringham's kitchen, or to be sold in the shop. Profits would be poured back into the estate.
Managing director of Truffle UK Limited, where Philip got his trees, Nigel Hadden-Paton told website mailonline: "It can take up to eight years for the truffles to develop, so an enterprise such as this takes a lot of patience and he is only three years in.
"This season we have harvested 200 kilos of truffles from our own orchard, so there is every chance that the Duke of Edinburgh will be successful in time. Dogs are quite often used to sniff them out these days so the duke is doing everything right."
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