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A woman who fled the Nazis has said the Prince of Wales told her her family's ordeal was like the actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Marienne Ferguson was speaking after she met Prince Charles during a visit to an immigration museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she is a volunteer.

According to Ms Ferguson, "He made the remark that now Putin is doing some of the same things that Hitler was doing."

Clarence House said it would not comment on a private conversation.

The prince is due to meet the Russian president for D-Day anniversary celebrations in France next month.

On Monday, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Pier 21, Canada's national immigration museum, during their four-day tour of Canada.

The prince chatted to Ms Ferguson, who left Poland for Canada just prior to the Nazi occupation, and some of whose family died in concentration camps.

"He [Charles] asked when I came to Canada, I told him 1939," said Ms Ferguson.

"He made the remark that now Putin is doing some of the same things that Hitler was doing.

"I agreed - you know, he is taking countries the same as Hitler did."

BBC Royal correspondent Peter Hunt commented: "This was an unplanned foray into a vexed international issue.

"Charles's supporters will argue his views are in tune with those who've been appalled by the Russian President's actions in Ukraine. His critics believe an unelected future head of state should be seen and not heard."

The Russian president has been widely condemned since he annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the same comparison between Mr Putin and Hitler in March, when Russia began issuing passports to Ukrainian citizens.

"Now if this sounds familiar, it's what Hitler did back in the '30s," she said.