A HAMPSHIRE village has today welcomed a royal visitor for the first time in more than 150 years.

HRH Sophie the Countess of Wessex officially opened the University of Southampton's LifeLab at Southampton general Hospital before she headed to Titchfield this afternoon.

She is the first royal visitor to the village since 1858 when two of Queen Victoria's children - Prince Edward, and his younger brother, Prince Arthur, visited the church.

The Countess will visit a venue in The Square this afternoon where breast cancer support centre The Haven in Wessex will be created.

She will look around the Grade II building which is to undergo a refurbishment before opening as a fully functioning Haven in the first part of 2015.

The Haven in Wessex will provide support for 3,000 breast cancer patients.