GIRL guides marked a royal day in their calendar when the Countess of Wessex opened the new £445,000 activities building at the Willow Tree Centre in Harefield on Tuesday last week.

Sophie, patron of Girlguiding UK, was greeted by the Mayors of Hillingdon and Harrow and girls from guide groups from across north west London.

The countess watched brownies, guides and senior section members carry out a range of activities and had lunch with the youngsters.

Dawn Palmer, who is in charge of fundraising for the centre, said: “The countess was very impressed with the facilities.”