Farnham enjoyed a royal encounter last Wednesday as Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh gave hugs and high fives to pupils on a visit to Hale Community and Youth Centre.

The beaming 59-year-old chatted with the flag-waving crowds of Hale Nursery and Primary School children before getting a tour of the building and meeting staff and volunteers.

Melissa Salisbury, manager of the community centre, said: “The Duchess was really engaging and so interested in everyone’s stories.

“She gave everyone time to talk to her and at the end she said that she could have spent another few hours with us and still not found out everything about what was going on.”

The Duchess was given a tour of the centre and spent some time in the parent and toddler ‘Stay and Play’ session, where she helped build a Lego tower.

She then met pupils from The Ridgeway School, a school for children with multiple learning difficulties, and admired lanterns they were creating for Farnham’s Lantern Festival next month.

She also discussed with Kathryn McManus, CEO of Creative Response, the way art can help those with mental health problems and met Ukrainian artist Marina Borysova.

She played Rummikub with members of the Seniors Group and joined in singing ‘happy birthday’ to group regular Vera, before being given a tour of the kitchen and learning about the pop-in ‘pay as you can afford’ café.

After a visit to the community fridge and cupboard and getting down-to-earth planting bulbs outside Hale School Nursery, she was presented with a Farnham tea-towel and tomatoes from the community garden. She also unveiled a plaque commemorating the visit.

After the visit, the Duchess headed for Mytchett to visit Parity for Disability, followed by Mane Chance Sanctuary in Compton, near Godalming, during a hectic day of engagements that started in Somerset.