Princess Anne is not letting the coronavirus pandemic get in the way of her royal duties as she made her way through another packed week of engagements.
Earlier this week, the Princess Royal met with the first Occupational Therapy graduates of the University of Central Lancashire. As Patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, she officially opened the Occupational Therapy practice skills area, learned about the latest technology and met with students.
She also went on a tour of the facilities with Dr Anne Milston, Deputy Head of the School of Community Health and Midwifery, who said: “This visit has been a wonderful boost for our students, staff and everyone connected with our Occupational Therapy programmes. The Princess Royal is a leading advocate for our profession and we hope her visit will highlight the vital work our first cohort of talented graduates will be doing in the future to support people of all ages, whose health may prevent them from getting on with their everyday lives.”
The next day Princess Anne met with members of the Newbury branch of Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA). Princess Anne is president of the organization. The RDA has 25,000 disabled riders and 18,000 volunteers to help provide therapy, exercise and skill development for people of all ages. Unfortunately, their groups have been closed due to the pandemic since March but are hoping to reopen safely soon. The Princess Royal met with Alan Rind of Wyler Court Stud, who has hosted the Newbury RDA branch for 25 years.
Princess Anne then headed back to school. She opened King’s Gate Primary School in Amesbury. While she was there the Princess Royal met with students from Reception to Year 5. She watched as students interacted in the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths room before unveiling a plaque commemorating the visit.
King’s Gate headteacher Nicola Gilbert said: “The pupils have loved having our Royal visitor today and enjoyed the opportunity to show off our brand new school, which we are all very proud of. This purpose-built learning environment will enable us to deliver high quality, exciting learning in a stimulating and safe way to all our pupils.”
