So we had been padding round the village checking out rumours the royals were in town but seemed to have missed them but we were in for a surprise. The garage at the end of our road came into view and there seemed to be a lot of activity. It soon became apparent this was the royals and soldiers we later learned were from the household cavalry. This wasn't one of the buttoned up formal visits we are used to seeing on TV. The Princes, William and Harry were in work clothes, Harry in black and William in a blue anorak and very much pitching in with the others.

There was a large truck full of sandbags and the army and the princes got quickly to work forming a human chain to get the bags where they were needed and quickly and efficiently erecting a new wall across the top of our road. Our previous effort had been half way along at its highest point. I joined in and found myself throwing bags along the line to our future King.

The media coverage of the time suggests the Princes planned this as a private support (we are after all their neighbours) and were quite annoyed when the media pitched up. Our close up experience bears this out as William in particular seemed annoyed at the attention and not keen on all the mobile phones that appeared.

It was interesting to see the princes close up and note the contrast in their personalities. Harry was the more gregarious of the two mixing freely with the soldiers if not with us while William when not working was more prone to separate himself.

Nevertheless I did get to talk to William and shake his hand though the conversation didn't go much beyond me saying thank you and him asking if we lived there.

Having built a wall across the end of our road the cavalry, with the princes pitching in, built a further wall across the back of the garage protecting the backs of our houses for the first time. The speed, rapidity and efficiency with which they worked was extraordinary.

It seems a pity to put a dampener on all this excitement and activity but I need to mention that all this happened two days after our properties had flooded internally. I managed to upset one of the parish officials, who if you remember we're now following the Royal party around by suggesting it would have been good to see some of them earlier in our troubles. Also, as we were later to realise, the water table was so high, water was as likely to come up through the floor as from the front or back of the house.