The new Wycombe Leisure Centre was given the royal seal of approval on Wednesday afternoon as the Duke of Kent returned to Handy Cross for the official opening, almost 40 years after launching the old sports centre.

The royal was joined by five-time Olympic gold medallist and deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Sir Steve Redgrave, to officially mark the opening of the new £25 million centre at Handy Cross.

After a private lunch and tour of the building, which boasts a 50m swimming pool, 12-court sports hall and a 150-station gym, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit.

His Royal Highness had previously been invited to open the old Sports Centre, which is due to be demolished soon, in 1977.

He said: “It is a great pleasure to come back to High Wycombe. You certainly have got a splendid new leisure centre and I think one of the things that struck me about this centre is that it does cater for all ages, we saw some very small children climbing about and some rather mature citizens doing other things. Everything has been thought about.”

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The royal also stopped to chat with members of staff, sports club members and school pupils on his visit, including nine-year-old High Wycombe resident Arthur Thomas, who was guest of honour at the event.

The Penn and Tylers Green Middle School pupil was a VIP and said he was “very excited” to meet the Duke of Kent and shake his hand, as well as his “hero” Sir Steve.

His father Andrew said: “He likes to read the council’s magazine, the Wycombe District Times and he also has a keen interest in civil engineering projects in the area, so I wrote to the council to thank them for inspiring him and he was invited to be in the next council magazine and to be a VIP today.”

Maureen Dover, chairman of the Wycombe 50 Plus, a sports group which helps its members, aged from 50 to 90 keep fit, also said she was honoured to meet the royal.

She said: “He asked me what Wycombe 50 Plus did so I was showing him short tennis, table tennis and badminton.

“He said do you use that horrible place upstairs, which is the gym, and I said no we don’t - I explained that we did keep fit, Pilates and Thai Chi and I invited him to come and join us.

“It was really lovely to meet him.”

Wycombe District Council said the new centre has proved popular with visitors since it opened to the public on January 5.

Cllr Alex Collingwood said the new centre is “for the next generation.”

He said: “One of the options was to try and redevelop and make do with the old sports centre, but it is nearly 40 years old and while it was lovely, Steve [Redgrave] and I spent our youth there, it has had its day.

 “The running costs for the old sports centre were through the roof. Close to £1 million a year. It is a lovely old facility but it couldn’t be sustained.

“Now, we have a brand new centre, with all the latest equipment and technology. This centre is for the next generation.”

View the gallery of the Duke of Kent's visit to Wycombe High School here.