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William had earlier spent around 35 minutes in talks with Estonia’s President Alar Karis and almost the same amount of time shaking hands, chatting to the public and holding up phones to capture the moment.
Many of the selfies were taken by the future king who seemed to encourage the photos and at one point appeared to drop a phone, but luckily only the owner’s extra battery pack slipped from his grasp.
Around 200 people braved bitter conditions in the capital Tallinn to see William after he learnt about the work of a range of renewable energy start-up firms, members of the Cleantech Association, and heard how Estonia and other Baltic states are ushering in a new era of energy security.
Last month, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania asserted their energy independence from Russia by disconnecting from the Russian-controlled electricity grid and joining the European network.
Banker Julius Lwanga, 35, said of William: “I asked for his autograph and he said he wouldn’t sign my book but would pose for a selfie.
“I feel overawed I’m going to the pub for a drink.”
Jevgenia Hammerberg, 39, from Tallinn, took her young daughter to see the prince and gave him a doll of a classic Estonian children’s book character, Sipsik, which the prince said looked similar to the UK cartoon creation Dennis the Menace.
Ms Hammerberg said: “I’m quite a fan of the royal family, I like the traditions and history, not just the dresses of Kate Middleton.
“I think it was an amazing opportunity to meet somebody from the royal family in Estonia – it was really cool.”
At one point William was given a basket of food and quipped “no one’s ever given me groceries before”.
A large group of teenagers with distinctive peaked school caps posed for the largest group selfie, with William holding the phone and asking if everyone was in the shot.
After zigzagging between two rows of well-wishers behind crash barriers William neared the end and began rubbing his hands to keep them warm before finally leaving.
Earlier he was shown a hydrogen-powered drone and solar panels that appeared on a house in the hit Channel 4 show Grand Designs, boosting the manufacturer’s sales.
In a question and answer session with members of the Cleantech Association, William, who founded his Earthshot Prize to scale up solutions to repair the planet, said: “My message is keep doing more of the same.
“There is clearly a lot of innovation and a lot of excitement and good brains here trying to tackle these problems.”
