Princess Anne keeps calm and carries on: King’s sister, 73, steps in to carry out investiture then criss-crosses UK for full diary of events
Not for nothing is she known as one of the hardest-working royals. But even die-hard fans might be surprised at the sheer scale of Princess Anne’s weekly workload.
And with her brother the King incapacitated indefinitely from public duties, the 73-year-old royal stalwart – who last year undertook 457 engagements – will be one of those picking up most of the slack.
On Tuesday her day started at Gatcombe Park, her country home near Stroud, Gloucestershire, where the punctual princess was picked up by helicopter at 9.30am to fly her to Windsor Castle.
There she undertook an investiture on behalf of the King, who had originally planned to hold it before his cancer diagnosis.
In doing so she became the first member of the Royal Family to be seen performing public duties in the UK since news that the monarch was being treated was announced.
After arriving at 10am she changed into her Naval Uniform before the investiture started at 11am sharp.
The princess spent almost two hours on her feet, handing out honours to almost 100 worthy members of communities the length and breadth of Britain, smiling and chatting happily.
They included Sara Cox, the world’s first professional female rugby referee, who was made an MBE for services to rugby union.
She said that she spoke at length with Anne – who is patron of the Scottish Rugby Union – about technology in the sport and rugby in general because she knew the princess was such a big fan.
According to aides, a sandwich was ‘scheduled in’ between precisely 1pm and 1.20pm – ‘not that Her Royal Highness ever really stops to eat it’.
In this she is very much like her elder brother who famously refuses to eat at lunchtime – even if he is seated with other guests – and does not even drink water until the evening so he can carry on working without taking what the palace modestly refer to as ‘comfort breaks’.
At 1.20pm the princess boarded her helicopter again to fly to Nottinghamshire for two further long-planned public engagements, landing at 2.10pm.
Her first stop was ten minutes away, the Nottingham West Primary Care Network, where she braved cold, wet and windy weather to meet healthcare workers in her role as patron of The Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
Excited residents could be seen peeking from their windows and breaking out into grins as Princess Anne chatted below – and she left clutching a huge bouquet of flowers following her visit to Eastwood Primary Care Centre in Nottingham
Shortly before, she also visited G.H. Hurt & Son – a luxury fabric manufacturer known for their knitted shawls and lace scarves
Princess Anne’s day was not finished there – as she arrived at the Science Museum to present an award in her fourth engagement of the day
Wearing a floral blue and white dress with bright green polka dots, she sheltered from the rain under an umbrella as she walked to the building
Wearing a purple skirt and jacket with knee high black boots, the Princess Royal was all smiles as she stepped out of a Range Rover after it pulled up outside the church hall in Eastwood, opposite a boxing gym, at 2.15pm.
She shook hands with Sir John Peace, the Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire who acts as the King’s personal representative in the county, and exchanged a few words with him before going inside.
The princess did not reply when asked by reporters how the King was doing – Buckingham Palace is keen not to give a ‘running commentary’ about his health – and spent almost an hour at the hall, speaking to staff about a project which is helping local residents improve their mental health.
Those at the event said she was in ‘good spirits’. John Ogle, chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, said she was ‘extremely professional’ and ‘very knowledgeable’ about occupational health.
‘No one mentioned the King, she was here to hear about the work that is being done,’ he said.
She left the church hall at 3.20pm before travelling 12 miles south to G H Hurt & Sons, a family-owned luxury knitted lace firm based in Chilwell, Nottingham, arriving just before 4pm. The princess met staff in her role as patron of the UK Fashion and Textile Association.
Founded in 1912 and renowned for its exquisite lace shawls, the family firm boasts a long association with the Royal Family.
Most recently it hit the headlines when the Prince and Princess of Wales dressed their baby son, Prince George, in one of their £45 merino wool christening shawls which was identical to one Prince William had when he was a baby.
Ivor Bolton, from London, Conductor, is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle on Tuesday
Rugby union referee Sara Cox is awarded an MBE by Princess Anne on Tuesday morning
The princess left at 5.10pm and headed for London, landing on the helicopter pad at Kensington Palace at 6pm. She was met by a car which took Anne to her modest home/office at nearby St James’s Palace 15 minutes later.
There was just enough time for her to change and grab a bite to eat – little wonder she remains as trim as always – before leaving again at 7.05pm.
Her fourth and final engagement of an extremely long day was at the Science Museum in London to announce the winners of this year’s £500,000 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.
The princess said a few words and enjoyed a reception with the nominees before departing at 8.15pm for the 15-minute journey back to St James’s Palace where she was due to overnight.
A source told the Mail that while the day had been made ‘slightly busier’ than usual after the princess offered to step in to hold her brother’s investiture, it was ‘not untypical’ of her normal workload. Indeed by Friday she will have packed in a dozen or so public engagements, in addition to her private commitments.
Monday saw her visit a number of organisations in Wiltshire, while she will head to a military engagement in Oxfordshire first thing today, followed by another event in Marlow, Berkshire, and then on to London.
Tomorrow she will be working in London and on Friday she will be in Wales, packing in everything from visiting an industrial estate to examining maintenance work on a bridge.
‘Not everyone’s cup of tea but Her Royal Highness is rather like her late father and fascinated by everything to do with engineering,’ one source familiar with the princess’s work remarked.
The King, pictured in France last September, will continue working behind the scenes on red boxes and constitutional duties, but public duties have been paused and will be shared amongst his family
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: ‘During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer’
Saturday will see her travel to Scotland to cheer on her beloved rugby team in the Six Nations tournament. Her duties are ‘bread and butter’ royal fare, another source says: Unveiling plaques, signing visitor books and shaking hundreds of hands.
‘Unlikely to get much in the way of public or media attention, but interactions that mean so much to the deserving people she meets and what we expect from the monarchy,’ they said.
Another insider added of the princess dubbed ‘The King’s wing-woman’: ‘It’s this kind of work that is so valuable and makes her such a star.’
Remarkably given her workload and her indispensability to the King, Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter is currently just 17th in line to the throne.
That is because the law of primogeniture, which allowed royal male heirs to overleap their female counterparts, wasn’t changed until 2013. As a result Anne’s brothers, Andrew and Edward, leap-frogged her.