Sark marks 460 years of Royal Charter

Seigneur of Sark, Christopher Beaumont, marked 460 years of settlement

Sark has been marking 460 years of the island's connection to the English Crown.

Seigneur of Sark, Christopher Beaumont, said Sark Fief Day dated back to 6 August 1565 when Helier de Carteret, the Seigneur of St Ouen in Jersey, obtained permission from Queen Elizabeth I to occupy Sark as a royal fief and add it to his estate.

Before it was formally settled it had been the home to groups including monks, French armed forces and pirates.

Mr Beaumont said: "In our own right, we are a jurisdiction ourselves, and all of that was created in 1565 and we've managed to maintain that ever since."

He said the last time the event was "celebrated in style" was 10 years ago.

"I suspect the next big one will be the 500th in 40 years time, and we'll all have to defer to somebody else for that one," he said.