Dignitaries including the Queen’s cousin visited Kings Langley on Saturday to officially present the Hertfordshire village of the year award.

Sir Simon Bowes Lyon KCVO, president of the Hertfordshire Campaign to Protect Rural England, who was also Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire between 1986 and 2007, visited on Saturday (June 21) to make the presentation.

The village picked up the award for the west of the county, narrowly missing out on the overall title, as judges branded it "a veritable hive of activity".

He was joined by representatives of the CPRE, Kings Langley Parish Councilors, MP Mike Penning and Caroline McCaffrey of Hertfordshire Community Foundation The plaque, which is currently attached to the parish council notice board, will eventually be mounted onto a pole and put on display in the village/ Paul Dunham, clerk to the parish council said: "The village has not looked so good for such a long time and the effort was so worthwhile, not just because of the winning, but also the community spirit, pride and pleasure it engendered.

"And there is now a strong foundation for further improvements and to do even better in the competition next year."