Princess Anne arrives in province for two-day visit

Princess Anne has arrived in Northern Ireland today on a two-day visit to undertake a series of official engagements.

The first of which was at The Somme Nursing Home in East Belfast, a charity established in 1914 to provide treatment and care for ex-servicemen and women.

On arrival she was met by Lady Carswell OBE, Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, before being introduced to guests including East Belfast MP Peter Robinson and First Minister David Trimble.

During a tour of the facilities, the Princess met residents in their rooms, observed others enjoying a bingo session and was introduced to other residents in the communal area

The Princess was then taken to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club (RNIYC), for her second engagement, were she unveiled a memorial to members of the Club who served in the Second World War and met members and guests of RYA Sailability Northern Ireland.

She was then introduced in the hallway to the Commodore, Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore of the club and two Second World War survivors before being invited to unveil the Memorial recording the names of the 210 members of the RNIYC who served during World War Two.

The Princess's third engagement of the day took place at Culloden Hotel to attend a Save the Children Awards and Presentations ceremony.

Award recipients included Lisnagelvin Primary School and Belfast Royal Academy for their significant support for Save the Children over the years and a number of individual awards presented in recognition of tireless fundraising efforts.

In addition, to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Save the Children in Northern Ireland, a Special Achievement Recognition Award was presented to two voluntary support groups who were inaugurated during 1952.

Following the presentation of awards, Princess Anne delivered a short speech and had the opportunity to meet approximately 100 Save the Children volunteers before departing for her next engagement.

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