Sri Lanka (Commonwealth Union) _ Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, who arrived a short while ago in Sri Lanka received a spectacular welcome as she touched down for a tour of the country.
Princess Anne is accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, her spouse, and will be on the island until 13th January.
Princess Anne is the only daughter and second child and of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King Charles III.
Engagements will be carried out by the couple across Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna during the visit.
This trip is the Royal Family’s first overseas engagement of 2024.
The King’s sister is also slated to meet President Ranil Wickremesinghe and First Lady Maithree Wickremesinghe later, along with representatives of businesses and charities during her official three-day visit. She is also expected to visit the Save the Children Sri Lanka Programme, as well as a Commonwealth War Grave under her new role as President of Commonwealth War Graves.
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The UK High Commission in Colombo said in a statement, “The visit comes as the two nations mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. The United Kingdom and Sri Lanka share many strong personal ties and common interests making the two countries natural partners through the Commonwealth.”
She visited the island nation previously in March 1995 as patron of Save the Children.
Princess Anne is carrying out the visit at the request of the Foreign Office to mark the United Kingdom’s bilateral relations with the nation.
British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick, who welcomed the Princess Royal said that this visit is the best possible way to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.
He added: “That’s the aim, to show her as much of the country, as much of the diversity as we can, and we think it’s the first visit by a member of the Royal Family to Jaffna, certainly in many many years, so that will be historic.”
