HIS royal highness, The Duke of Kent, was welcomed to Pitzhanger Manor House as part of a three-stop tour of the borough.

The Duke was greeted by Deputy Lieutenant, Robert Leader and the Chairman of Pitzhanger Manor Trust, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles KCMG LVO before touring the heritage building in Mattock Lane, Ealing.

Ealing mayor Mohammad Aslam and council leader Julian Bell were also on hand to welcome the Queen's cousin last Thursday (December 13), along with constituency MP, Angie Bray, the council’s chief executive, Martin Smith and staff from Ealing Council.

The duke was shown throughout the grade 1 listed manor house and gallery by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles and site manager and heritage expert, Helen Walker. He was told of Pitzhanger’s long history and about the restoration work that has been carried out on the manor house, as well as the extensive refurbishments that are to come if the site is successful in gaining a full grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The duke also visited Ultra Electronics, an international aerospace and defence company in Greenford, as well as the Territorial Army Centre in Southall, which is the headquarters of 562 Parachute Squadron Royal Corps of Transport.

Staff at Ultra Electronics met with the duke and the mayor to give product demonstrations and the duke opened one of the company's newly refurbished buildings.