The Duke was joined by the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, the chairman of the County Council and of Huntingdonshire District Council, representatives of the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Middle Level Commissioners and Simon Thurley, the chairman of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. He also met members of the Wildlife Trust’s Young People’s Forum and the volunteers who help to care for habitats at the Great Fen.

During the visit to Woodwalton Fen - one of the last remnants of ancient fen in the UK - he learnt about conservation management practices, saw some aquatic insects and newts which had been caught as part of our survey work and took an interest in the history of the site which was saved by Charles Rothschild in 1910. Wildlife Trust staff introduced him to the work they and partners will be carrying out in the coming months and years to transform new areas of the Great Fen into wetland habitat, and trial new farming techniques.

Brian Eversham, Wildlife Trust BCN CEO, said: “It was fantastic to welcome our new royal patron to the Great Fen. He took a keen interest in the ambitious work we and our partners are doing here to save fenland nature. He was particularly interested in the land and water management, and how we work with farmers and others to create a wetland where there was once drained farmland.

“This is a 100 year vision which we are only 25 years into and we are aiming to create one of the biggest wetlands of its kind in Europe so to have a royal seal of approval and to be recognised by influential people is hugely important to us. I would like to say a big thank you to staff and volunteers from the Wildlife Trust and our partners for making the day such a success. I hope the Duke will be able to see further developments in the Great Fen on future visits.”