Prince Edward flew into Shropshire by helicopter today, landing at the county council’s headquarters at Shirehall in Shrewsbury before setting off on his whistle-stop tour.

See also: Prince Edward makes visit to Shrewsbury – in pictures

He arrived at the Abbey Foregate building at 11.05am before being taken by car to Shrewsbury’s Monkmoor campus of Severndale School and Wilfred Owen Primary School, where he officially unveiled the new building.

The £17 million showcase education and health project is set to transform overcrowded schools and provide a base for county-wide children’s health and family support services.

The pupils welcomed their royal visitor waving dozens of flags and lining the entrance to the building as he made his way in.

Prince Edward waved to the youngsters as he arrived in a motor cavalcade at about 11.20am.

He was greeted by the school’s headteacher Chris Davies who, after telling him about the school, took him on a tour of the site, where he was introduced to the pupils.

The royal visitor was all smiles as he arrived and made jokes about the cold weather to staff.

The Earl of Wessex later toured Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn, where he was greeted by the Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Anne Chebsey, and her husband Michael and other council members, including council manager Geraint Morgan and leader Peter Nutting.

He told Councillor Nutting: “It’s very nice to be here.”

The prince was escorted by Lezley Picton, the borough’s cultural services manager, for an extensive tour. During the visit, he was set to see a short video presentation of the construction of the building and watch a 15-minute presentation of musical Romany Wood before taking to the stage to officially declare the riverside theatre open.

He was then due to take a tour backstage, where he was to meet actor Timothy West and Shrewsbury’s All Angels star Melanie Nakhla as well as the design team.

The earl will then travel to Telford’s Denso factory at Hortonwood.