NOT every birthday party includes a princess on the guest list and a flypast by some of Britain's most historic aircraft.

However, the Special Forces Club was determined to ensure that its 60th anniversary celebrations were worthy of its members and their courageous exploits.

About 200 guests gathered in the grounds of Palace House, the ancestral home of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.

The club has become a second home for members of elite units such as the Special Air Service and former secret agents recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War.

Many of the agents attended an SOE "finishing school" at Beaulieu before being sent to occupied Europe, where capture and torture were constant threats.

The club decided to celebrate its diamond anniversary in the village and invited its patron, the Princess Royal.

The princess attended a service of thanksgiving at Beaulieu Abbey Church before laying a wreath at an SOE memorial in the abbey ruins. Waiting to greet her as she walked to Palace House were about 100 pupils from Beaulieu Primary School.

The princess walked between two rows of cheering children, all of whom were waving small Union Jacks. She asked two of the youngsters if they were glad to be back at school after the long summer holiday.

Later, the princess watched a low-level flypast by the RAF Memorial Flight, which comprised a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster bomber.

It was followed by a solo appearance of a Dakota aircraft, which circled Palace House.

General Sir Michael Wilkes, president of the Special Forces Club, referred to all the clandestine activities that took place in Beaulieu during the war.

He said: "This is a very special place in our corporate memories."

The princess told guests: "You can be very proud of your successors, the work they're doing and the way they're doing it."