While attendances at other homes in the area are falling, about 45,000 people so far this season have been visiting the castle in what is the Dukedom of Rutland’s 300th anniversary year. That's on a par with last year and final figures are expected to be up by the end of the year.

The castle where private guests have included the Beckhams, David Furnish and Liz Hurley is still the family home of the Duke and Duchess and their five children. Like many stately homes, it needs large numbers of visitors to survive.

The Duchess of Rutland and special events co-ordinator, Nicola Wheeler – both of whom had previously worked with hopwood on the successful launch of a retail conservatory furniture business – approached the agency to strengthen the castle’s marketing communications at the start of a crucial year.

To capitalise on what is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Duke and Duchess – the 300th anniversary of the Dukedom - hopwood developed an integrated marketing communications programme of press advertising, PR and promotions focusing on the May to September season. This was built around two pillars: the anniversary celebrations themselves and a range of events giving the public unprecedented access beyond the ropes with guided below stairs tours and glimpses of the Duchess’s home life.

“Belvoir’s ability to keep people coming here has been remarkable, and hopwood’s support has been a major contribution to our success this year,” said Emma, Duchess of Rutland.

Lucy Whitehead, the hopwood executive who manages the PR campaign for the castle, says consistency has been the key to success. “It would have been easy to focus all the effort on one huge hit in September when the 300th anniversary celebrations take place but that would have missed a huge range of events through the summer peak period. We had to find new ways to present the castle’s regular events, such as the jousting tournament, to a 21st century public that has massive leisure choice and which is spread across the east midlands and beyond.”

The hit movie A Knight’s Tale, which features jousting, and the Harry Potter books, which introduce a young audience to the excitement of falconry, helped hopwood raise visitor fascination levels with events at Belvoir this year.