Duke of Cambridge shown WW2 Spitfire at Duxford

The Duke of Cambridge visited the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire

The Duke of Cambridge has witnessed an air display by a rare World War Two Spitfire that can now fly again after being buried in a beach for decades.

The MK I Supermarine Spitfire N3200 crashed during the evacuation of Dunkirk on 26 May 1940.

It was bought by an American collector after being discovered in the 1980s and was donated to Duxford museum near Cambridge after experts restored it.

A second unearthed Spitfire P9374 sold for £3.1m at auction earlier.

It was owned by the same collector, Thomas Kaplan, and was sold at Christie's Exceptional Sale in London.

The Spitfire was also restored at the Cambridgeshire museum and proceeds from the sale are going to the RAF Benevolent Fund and Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

Mr Kaplan said: "[My wife] Daphne and I are overwhelmed and thrilled with the outcome of the auction, which has vastly exceeded our expectations.

"Today's events are, more than anything else, concrete gestures of gratitude and remembrance for those who prevailed in one of the most pivotal battles in modern history."

The pair are the only MK I Spitfires in the world to have been restored to original specification and can fly.

The duke was given the chance to sit in the fighter's cockpit

The duke watched an air display by the restored World War Two fighter

During the visit to the former home of RAF Duxford, the duke watched an air display by the MK I fighter, sat in its cockpit and visited the site's Battle of Britain exhibition - contained in the hangar where No. 19 Squadron's Spitfires were housed during the war.

The visit marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which began on 10 July 1940 and lasted until October while Britain saw off the threat of the Luftwaffe.

The N3200, which originally flew out of RAF Duxford, shot down a Junkers JU 87 Stuka dive bomber before crash landing on Sangatte beach on 26 May 1940.

A similar Spitfire has sold at auction in London for more than £3m

German soldiers posed with the P9374 Spitfire in Calais

The P9374, flown by No. 92 Squadron at RAF Croydon, was shot down two days earlier at Calais, but both were not found until strong tides exposed them on the beaches during the 1980s.

They were bought by American entrepreneur and philanthropist Mr Kaplan and, after finding parts on sites including eBay, both were restored at Duxford over a number of years.