A NEW nursery in Fenland had a royal visitor yesterday when HRH the Duchess of Gloucester opened the second Phoenix Montessori.

Owner Clare Harris waited until the Duchess was available to visit to officially open Doves Nursery, in Long Sutton, which can have up to 26 children aged from six months to four and a half.

The Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, Tony Worth, welcomed the Duchess and introduced her to all the nursery staff, children and their guests, which included the chairmen of Lincolnshire and South Holland District Councils and their wives and the High Sherriff of Lincolnshire.

Ms Harris, who also owns the Phoenix Montessori in Terrington St Clements, said: “It was a great honour for the Duchess to open our new nursery.

“I invited her along because she is roughly the same age as me, has children and grandchildren the same age of mine.

“She was great with the children and they presented her with gifts of self portraits and one children gave her a bunch of flowers at the end.”