All the world's a stage honouring the Bard

Stratford-upon-Avon

PRINCE Charles joined top British actors live on stage in a surprise crack at playing Hamlet, as thousands of William Shakespeare fans packed The Bard's hometown for the 400th anniversary of his death on Saturday.

The heir to the throne joined the likes of Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen and David Tennant at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for the culmination of a day of parades, dancing and fireworks.

The Shakespeare Live! show, celebrating the English language's foremost playwright, was broadcast live on British television and beamed to cinemas across Europe at the time.

Prince Charles, 67, who had been watching from the Royal Box, strode on stage asking the cast "Might I have a word?", during a sketch on how to deliver the famous "To be, or not to be…