The Duke of Edinburgh joked about his age as he opened the new memorial pavilion at South Creake, near Fakenham.

'I don't know who it was who had the bright idea of inviting me to open this new pavilion but it's a curious coincidence because I'm about as old as the old one,' quipped the 93-year-old Duke, who later politely declined the opportunity to take part in a Zumba class.

Born on June 10, 1921, the Duke opened the new hall which replaced one built in 1920, which closed in 2003.

'It shows remarkable community spirit and a lot of real effort to do something like this, so I'm sure it will be successful,' he said.

The Duke met groups who use the new hall, on the banks of the stream which winds through the village, when he unveiled a plaque to officially open it.

A small crowd of villagers waited in the snow outside as the Duke arrived. He was greeted by Norfolk's Vice Lord-Lieutenant, the Countess of Romney, and the High Sheriff of Norfolk, Lady Dannatt, West Norfolk mayor Barry Ayres, Norfolk County Council chairman Brian Hannah, Norfolk police's temporary assistant chief constable Nick Dean and Len Ringwood, vice-chairman of trustees at the hall.

First stop inside was a Zumba class led by instructors Amy Jarrett and Claire Piper, from Fakenham.

Afterwards, Miss Jarrett said: 'We tried to encourage him to have a go but he said he respects his body too much.'

Miss Jarrett, who runs classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the hall, said up to 25 people were turning out for the sessions.

'We're getting to the point where we might have to have a booking system,' she said. The Duke also viewed an exhibition by Barbara Allen and Brenda Cooper, who have researched the histories of villagers who served King and country in the war.

A map records where each of the 28 who lost their lives lived.

The Duke met trustees who began raising money for the new £700,000 hall in 2011, before meeting the architect and builder who designed and built the venue.

He also spoke to members of sports clubs which use the pitches, the 1st South Creake Rangers, grant providers Norfolk Community Foundation, members of an art class led by Sara Dyson and children from South Creake who attend Burnham Market Primary School, who had drawn a map of the village.

The hall was blessed by the Rev Clive Wylie, vicar of South Creake. He said: 'It will be a centre for parish activities, a venue where we can all come together and a place where we can all grow and know one another.'

Architect Steve Wade, who designed the building, said the Duke's visit was a nice finishing touch to the project.

'There were some difficulties with the site,' he added. 'We're right next to a river, so we had to build a bridge across it, we're on a flood plain, so we had to raise the floor.'