This week hasn’t just been (yet another) busy one for the Princess Royal. Amidst a string of engagements that took her across the UK, Anne also gave us the regal fashion statement of the week by turning up to an evening event in a bowtie. Forget the increasingly pointless arguments about whether royal women can show their shoulders/ knees/ ankles or whichever Victorian revival of non existent protocol is causing a row this week and revel in this style moment. Oh, and a week filled with good causes and big events. Here’s how Anne spent the past seven days, try and keep up.
Let’s start with the bowtie because it really was a treat. Anne donned it on Wednesday for a reception at the Tower of London in her role as Master of the Corporation of Trinity House. They look after all the lighthouses in England, Wales and the Channel Islands and Anne was at the Tower for a Younger Brethren’s Guest Night Dinner which also saw the princess pick up a microphone and host a question and answer session.
It had been a marine kind of day for the Princess Royal as earlier she had visited the Cruising Association at the Limehouse Basin in east London. The Association, which provides a network of services and knowledge for sail cruisers, is marking its 110th anniversary this year and one of its most famous members, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, introduced the princess to volunteers as well as showing her some of the organisation’s memorabilia.
Earlier on Wednesday, Princess Anne oversaw the latest investiture of 2019 at Buckingham Palace. Those honoured included Ann Gloag, co-founder of the Stagecoach Group, who received her Damehood and firefighters Wayne Ansell and Simon Best who were both awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for their efforts in rescuing elderly people from a blaze at a care home in Hertfordshire.
On Tuesday, Anne had attended an event at Prince Philip House in London where the winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 2019 was announced. She handed over the accolade to Dr Bradford Parkinson, Professor James Spilker, Hugo Fruehauf and Richard Schwartz who were all recognised for their work in creating and developing GPS.
Also on Tuesday, the Princess Royal carried out engagements linked to two of her patronages. She received Peter Bennett Jones as he relinquished his role as Chair of Save the Children while in the evening, the princess was at a reception in London for the Mary Peters Trust as it aims to raise £1 million to help young athletes in Northern Ireland.
Valentine’s Day saw Anne out and about in London again as she attended an event for the Fishmongers’ Company. It’s one of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of the City of London and the Princess Royal holds the very traditional sounding role of Fourth Warden with it.
The end of the week took the princess to York for a day of engagements. Anne visited the famous National Railway Museum in the city where she saw several carriages used by royalty including one she herself had travelled in as a child. She also unveiled a plaque celebrating the restoration work on a saloon used by her great, great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria, first built in 1869.
Also on the agenda for Anne on Friday was a tour of the University of York where she attended the launch event for the BioYork initiative which aims to bring together work in bioeconomics across a range of areas including health, food and fuel. The princess also attended the rural crime conference in her role as patron of Victim Support.
According to the Court Circular, this week’s engagements brings Anne’s tally for 2019 to 55 so far. Last year, the Princess Royal was the busiest member of the House of Windsor, carrying out 518 engagements in total. This year could end up just as packed with hundreds of events. And one very interesting bowtie moment.
