Princess Anne will travel to Greece next week for a major overseas engagement marking 85 years since the Battle of Crete, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The three-day visit, running from May 22 to May 24, will see the Princess Royal joined by her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, for a packed programme of commemorative events in Athens and Crete.
It marks Anne’s first official overseas visit since attending the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy earlier this year and her first return to Greece since March 2025.
In her role as President of the Mission to Seafarers, the Princess Royal will begin her visit in the Greek capital before travelling to Crete for events commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete.
The wartime commemorations will begin at the RAF Memorial in Maleme, where Anne will attend a memorial service honouring members of 30 Squadron and 33 Squadron who lost their lives defending the island during the Second World War.
The Princess Royal will later attend a Service of Remembrance at the Souda Bay War Cemetery, where Commonwealth servicemen killed during the conflict are buried.
A ceremonial flypast involving RAF aircraft and the Red Arrows is also planned, before Anne lays a wreath in tribute to the fallen.
The visit will continue in Chania, where the Princess Royal will meet descendants of veterans involved in the 1941 campaign, alongside British Armed Forces veterans now living in Crete.
Anne will also tour the historic Firkas Fortress and the Maritime Museum of Crete before attending a commemorative service at Chania Cathedral.
The visit concludes with a traditional flag parade at Chania Old Harbour accompanied by another Red Arrows display.
The trip also carries wider royal significance given the historic ties between the British Royal Family and Greece.
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born into the Greek and Danish royal families before his family fled Greece in 1922 following political upheaval.
Despite those deep personal links, Elizabeth II never carried out an official state visit to Greece during her reign, with historians long pointing to the country’s turbulent royal history and the exile of Prince Philip’s family as possible reasons.
