A new museum at Kent's Hever Castle has been given the royal seal of approval.

HRH Princess Alexandra officially opened the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry Museum on Sunday, September 6.

To celebrate the opening, visitors to the castle, near Tonbridge, were treated to a military parade, including the regimental band, serving soldiers and old comrades.

Families watched demonstrations by World War I re-enactors and heard Professor Sir Hew Strachan’s talk about Yeomanry in World War I.

The new museum replaces the old venue in the keep of the castle, which was once Anne Boleyn’s childhood home before she married Henry VIII.

It tells the story of one of Kent and London’s proudest regiments and is housed in custom-built premises inside the castle grounds.

For authenticity, it has been designed to resemble a military operations tent and has a Saladin armoured car and a 25lb field gun on site.

The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry currently has serving squadrons as part of the Reserve Army in Croydon and Bexleyheath.

Attractions in the museum include reconstructions of a World War I trench, with sound effects, and the interior of a World War II Cromwell tank turret.

Four touchscreens tell fascinating life stories of people who served in the regiment through the ages, with video clips and quizzes.

Exhibits include original artefacts such as photographs, diaries, uniforms and equipment dating back to 1797, as well as flags and medals. Visitors can also research ancestors who may have served in the regiments.

Entry to the new Military Museum is included with the normal admission price to Hever Castle & Gardens.

Hever chief executive, Duncan Leslie, said: “This new, bigger and much more accessible museum should dramatically raise the interest of all visitors, particularly the young. The interpretation is first class being both innovative and engaging.”

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