Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall at Hay Festival

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The royal couple greet well-wishers in the streets of Hay
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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the opening day of the Hay Festival at Hay-on-Wye, Powys. They arrived late as they had to travel by road after the royal helicopter developed a fault just after take-off forcing an emergency landing.

The Duchess of Cornwall in Hay-on-Wye
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Shrugging off both the rain on their arrival and the earlier helicopter emergency, the Duchess of Cornwell greeted well-wishers in the town.

Prince Charles walks holding an umbrella
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Prince Charles braved the weather to sample some of the second-hand book shops that pepper the streets of the town. The Hay Festival attracts an annual gathering of authors, politicians and celebrities.

Prince Charles talks to local schoolchildren at the Hay Festival
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But hundreds of local school children were also at the festival to see the royal couple, who were shown around by Shan Legge-Bourke (right), the Lord Lieutenant of Powys and mother of Tiggy, who was nanny to Princes William and Harry.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall
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As well as meeting local school children, the prince and the duchess met people involved with causes close to their hearts.

The Duchess of Cornwall played a large game of outdoor chess
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The Hay Festival has been a fixture in the literary calendar for 26 years. As part of her visit, the duchess played a large game of outdoor chess with Year Five and Six pupils from Hay-on-Wye school.