Possibly the last thing Sophie, Countess of Wessex expected to be doing on her trip to Cumbria was jiving to Blue Suede Shoes .

But the VIP threw herself into her visit to the Sunbeams Musical Therapy Trust.

Officially opening the charity's HQ and music centre, she obviously enjoyed meeting the youngsters, some with profound disabilities, who spend time in music workshops and therapy sessions.

The countess also met some of the key people who helped raise the £2m needed to build the centre at Redhills, near Penrith and those who help run it.

After visiting two special rooms named after two special youngsters who have been helped by the Trust, the countess was treated to a singalong with the staff and those who use Sunbeams.

She sang and jigged along to I'm A Believer and Blue Suede Shoes and hand-jived with Lucy Chapman who sat next to her.

Lucy was a little shy of the royal visitor at first but soon seemed to be enjoying herself.

Some children helped the countess unveil a plaque to mark the official opening of the centre which has now been operating for about a year and in her speech, the royal visitor paid a heartfelt tribute to the youngsters and adults who visit and the work done by the Sunbeams Trust.

She said: "What a joy to be able to come to such a beautfiful place and create beautiful music in such beautiful surroundings.

"It is a joy to come here. I don't think I have had so much fun in an afternoon for a long time. To all the children - you are a complete joy.

"Annie, you have worked so hard to make this happen, with the support of others, but you have been the inspiration."

Earlier, the countess had been greeted by flagwaving Sunbeam users and their families as well as dignitaries from Eden District Council and members of the Trust's board.

Sunbeams founder and leader Annie Mawson then showed the royal guest round the specially-created centre, designed by Annie's architect nephew, Will Mawson.

The tour included a visit to Tom's Room - a music room where children from Walney School aged from 11 to 16 sang and played a song about bullying they had specially composed for her visit.

Tom Froggatt, of Thornhill, Whitehaven, was 23 when he died in 2015 after a five-year battle with an undiagnosed brain virus and never got to see the room named after him.

Before he fell ill, he was a keen sportsman and a gifted cellist and piano player.

The countess then went into Yasmin's Room - a special sensory play area. Yasmin Taylor is one of only a handful of people who have the neurodegenerative disease niemann pick disease.

She also met Steven Fox, Steven McGrady and Craig Benson who, along with Will Mawson, and other fundraisers from the Copeland area known as the Challenge 24 team, raised £60,000 in honour of Tom for the building in a series of gruelling events.

A thrilled Annie said after the visit: "It was a wonderful testament to our 25 years, we were all so impressed and honoured that the countess come to open our music centre.

"She was so empathetic and sensitive to all the children in particular and went out of her way to meet everyone."

Earlier on Thursday, the countess had visited Carlisle Mencap in Kingmoor as part of its 50th anniversary.