Actress Gillian Anderson shows a first edition of a Charles Dickens book, with the author's annotations, to The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, during a tour of the Dickens Museum in London to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday February 7, 2012. See PA story HERITAGE Dickens. Photo credit should read: Andrew Winning/PA Wire

The Prince of Wales paid tribute to Charles Dickens as “one of the greatest writers of the English language” on the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birth today. (Tuesday February 7)

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He was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall, the Archbishop of Canterbury and luminaries from the worlds of literature and theatre for a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, where wreaths were laid at Dickens’ grave in Poets’ Corner.

A number of events were held around the world in tribute to the world famous author who lived and died at Gad’s Hill Place, Higham, including several at his birthplace in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

The ceremony, held at 11.15am, heralds the anniversary of the great Victorian writer, who is buried in the South Transept of the Abbey, and the start of a year-long programme of events in celebration of his life.

Prince Charles said: “Despite the many years that have passed, Charles Dickens remains one of the greatest writers of the English language, who used his creative genius to campaign passionately for social justice.

“The word Dickensian instantly conjures up a vivid picture of Victorian life with all its contrasts and intrigue, and his characterisation is as fresh today as it was on the day it was written.”

He laid a wreath of white roses and snowdrops on Dickens’ grave before two of the writer’s descendants, great-great-great-grandson Bob Dickens and great-great-great-great-granddaughter Rachel Dickens Green, made their own tribute on behalf of the family by laying two posies.

The congregation at the Abbey, where Dickens was buried in 1870, contained the largest-ever gathering of descendants of the Victorian novelist, with nearly 200 of them present.

Ralph Fiennes, who is to star as Magwitch in a new film adaptation of Great Expectations, read an extract from Bleak House during the moving ceremony at the Abbey, with other readings made by biographer Claire Tomalin and Mark Dickens, the writers’ great-great-grandson, who is head of the Dickens family.

Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said: “Dickens’ humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our commitment to improving the lot of the disadvantaged of our own day.”

The event at Westminster Abbey, a centerpiece of Dickens 2012, the international campaign marking the author’s bicentenary, will celebrate Dickens’s lasting impact on the arts and his popularity with audiences around the globe.

Before the ceremony, Prince Charles and Camilla visited the Charles Dickens Museum in Doughty Street, London, where they were given a reading by Gillian Anderson, who played Miss Havisham in the BBC’s recent adaptation of Great Expectations.

Star of Four Weddings And A Funeral and biographer of Dickens, Simon Callow, led events in Portsmouth, where Dickens was born.

Dickens lived at Gad’s Hill Place, now Gad’s Hill Independent School, from 1856 until 1870 when he died in what is now the school’s dining room.

While there he wrote three of his greatest novels: Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Our Mutual Friend, leaving behind is unfinished work The Mystery of Edwin Drood.