There was disappointment for show-goers hoping to catch a glimpse of Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, yesterday, on the first day of the Royal Cornwall Show when it was announced that she was unwell and would not be accompanying her husband on their first visit to the event. Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and his wife had been due to arrive at the showground at noon yesterday but organisers had to reshuffle the scheduled tour to accommodate the Prince alone. Show secretary Chris Riddle told the Cornish Times the absence of the duchess was a disappointment and that he and everyone connected with the show wished her a swift recovery. One of the Earl's first ports of call, after a lunch in the President's Pavilion, was to the Food and Farming exhibition where 60 local producers were showing off their wares in what has become one of the most popular attractions at the show and which has doubled in size this year. Among the attractions at the exhibition were two local chefs, Richard McGeown from Couch's Great House Restaurant in Polperro, and Ben Bass from Q Restaurant in Fowey, who were staging demonstrations during the day. The show itself got off to a good start with crowds pouring through the entrance gates.