Duchess of Rothesay visits Rosslyn Chapel project

Rosslyn Chapel: Camilla visited the site on Tuesday.

The Duchess of Rothesay has attended a service to celebrate the completion of the restoration programme of Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian.

Camilla, who is known as the Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland, toured the historic building and met staff, supporters and local schoolchildren at a reception, before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the opening of the new visitor centre.

The service within the chapel on Tuesday included hymns sung by children from the National Youth Choir.

The Duchess, dressed in a grey coat with tartan trim, was also introduced to primary seven pupils from Roslin primary school, who were dressed in traditional medieval costumes and who act as chapel guides when children from other schools visit.

She later met stone conservator Lauren Jackson and sculptor Derek Cunningham, who have worked on the painstaking restoration of the building.

Built between 1446 and 1484, the chapel is covered with carvings of individual figures and scenes.

It has been deluged with visitors since it featured in Dan Brown's novel the Da Vinci Code and a film of the book starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.

The chapel has undergone a £10m conservation programme which involved the construction of a large steel canopy over the whole building to keep out the rain.

It was removed after the completion of major roof works while conservation work has also been carried out on the external stonework and stained glass windows. The restoration of the outer stone work is expected to be completed in December.