Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall dropped in at a Trowbridge school for a cuppa and slice of cake to mark their first ever Big Lunch event yesterday.

When the Duchess arrived at The Mead Community Primary School, in Hackett Place, Hilperton she was greeted by glorious sunshine and a performance by the school’s choir.

She was taken for a tour of The Big Community Grow gardens on site, talking to children and then planting a Jubilee Oak Tree, marking her visit and the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.

The Duchess said: “I will give the tree a little touch for good luck as that is always helpful. It is absolute honour to come to this impressive garden, thank you for letting me plant the tree and showing me around I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Afterwards, she shared lunch with around 600 people inside a marquee, patriotically decorated in red, white and blue, as part of the school’s Big Lunch event with guests bringing a plate of food to share with others on their tables.

The Duchess is a patron of the annual national event, which first launched in 2009, aiming to bring communities together.

Alison Bennett, Kingfisher Church team leader, who sat next to the Duchess, said: “It was very exciting. We gave her a stained glass kingfisher and she said she really liked them. She was really engaging and I think this has been a great day.”

The Duchess later took to the marquee’s stage to hand-out prizes to the winner’s of the event’s best crown competition - giving the winning children a book and mug.

Winner Ellie Blackwall, eight, said: “She was really nice to us on stage and she said she liked my crown a lot.”

Before leaving, the Duchess was serenaded by a school choir performance of Celebration, the Big Lunch’s anthem, and received flowers and vegetables grown in the on-site garden, which is used by schools and children’s centres across Trowbridge.

Mel Jacob, one of the project’s organisers and chair of the school’s governing body, said: “She seemed to really enjoy going around the garden and was very interested in chatting to the children. The whole atmosphere, especially in the marquee, was just amazing.”

To show her appreciation, the Duchess, who’d earlier visited a charity event in aid of Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, held at Middlewick House, in Corsham, gave boxes of biscuits to the Mead Community Primary School’s headteacher Lyssy Bolton.

She said: “The children will always remember the Diamond Jubilee, last year, and I think this will be another very special memory for us all. I’d like to thank the Duchess for coming and also give a huge thank you to everyone who came and made the event such a success.”