Under a

royal blue sky and with the strains of The Beatles'

"Twist and Shout" playing, Prince Philip of

England touched down on Coweta soil Monday morning.

His Royal

Highness paid a visit to Newnan to commemorate the

opening of Slumberland in the Shenandoah Industrial Park.

Slumberland

is a British mattress company that has been chosen by the

Royal Family as its mattress of choice since 1947.

"I'm

sure Newnan and all of Georgia will sleep better

now," said Prince Philip with a touch of British

wit.

Nearly 200

invited guests turned out for the reception, which

featured several dignitaries from Coweta and Fayette

counties.

The prince

spoke for about 30 seconds before being led on an

escorted tour of the plant. Slumberland is expected to

employ about 150 people at the Coweta facility and will

serve as the company's headquarters for North and South

America.

As the

Prince's motorcade made its way to the facility, several

group of school children from Coweta and Fayette counties

waved brightly colored streamers and carnations as the

limousine pulled up to the plant.

The

children are part of the Achievers International group.

The group is a nonprofit corporation that helps create a

global economic education program between students in

Georgia and counterparts in Scotland, England and Wales.

The program

was initially piloted at schools in Fayette and Coweta

counties in 1995, but has spread to other systems.

Bette

Hickman, who is Achievers International executive

director, said she met with a spokesman for the Royal

Family to prepare for the visit.

"He

just wanted to put us at ease. He told us to think of it

as a family visit," said Hickman.

After

Prince Philip toured the facility, he attended a

reception inside the plant with several of the

dignitaries. A white tent was set up, with lush

background music playing. The Prince and his guests dined

on Sprayberry's barbecue before he headed back to

Atlanta.