WILLIAM Shakespeare often commanded a royal audience as an up-and-coming playwright with Queen Elizabeth I among his many admirers.

Little did the Bard know that royalty would be attending plays written by him more than 400 years later.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex were guests of honour at the annual Shakespeare Live event held at Hazelbury Manor in Box on Thursday.

Edward and Sophie Wessex joined a party organised by veteran explorer David Hempleman-Adams to watch the amateur production of As You Like It, directed by Gill Morrell.

Mr Hempleman-Adams brought a group of people to the production to raise funds for the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Ms Morrell said: "We met the Earl and Countess as they arrived and after the play they came down and met members of the cast and crew.

"They were charming extremely nice. They asked how long we had been rehearsing and said they had enjoyed it very much."

This is the first time there has been a royal visit in the event's 20-year history.

The Shakespeare Live group is totally made up of amateurs, albeit experienced ones, and they put on the show annually.

The group had been rehearsing every Sunday since April with occasional mid-week rehearsals and the production was a resounding success.

Ms Morrell said: "We have definitely broken even and have covered our costs and there may even be some money left over for charity which we will announce later in the year."

The audience benefited from a 500-seater stand protecting them from the wind and rain, which cost £18,000 to hire for the week.

Ms Morrell said: "The audience were protected from the wind and a bit of rain, but the actors had to put up with the weather."

The committee wanted to do a comedy this year after putting on King Lear and Julius Caesar over the past two years, and the grounds of Hazelbury Manor suited the production perfectly as much of the action takes place outdoors.