Well chuffed!
Children delighted as Anne reads role of the Queen in Thomas the Tank Engine tale
PrINCEss Anne made a surprise appearance on social media yesterday, pretending to be her mother, the Queen.
The royal took part in a save The Children UK fundraising initiative, which has seen famous faces read some of their favourite stories, including the Duchess of sussex who was reading to her son Archie.
For the finale of the campaign, Anne, 69, who is patron of the charity, chose to read ‘Thomas and the royal Engine’, which she revealed she enjoyed as a child.
The story involves the children’s character overcoming a number of obstacles – including rescuing the royal train Duchess – to get The Fat Controller to collect an award from the Queen in London.
At the end of the story Anne voiced the character of her mother as she also gives Thomas a medal, saying: ‘And gallant Thomas, this is for helping an engine in need and for being a royally useful engine.’
she finished the video by saying: ‘It’s been my pleasure to read this book to you, one I enjoyed when I was young.
‘Bearing in mind that in my travels I think I’ve discovered that there are many more similarities than dissimilarities, particularly amongst the things that children enjoy, and storytelling is very high on that list that all children enjoy.
‘Your support allows us to help children and their families affected by the coronavirus outbreak and is most appreciated.’
As well as keeping millions of families entertained during lockdown, the save the Children UK initiative has helped the charity’s Emergency Coronavirus Appeal, which has so far raised £1.4million to support families in the UK and around the world whose lives have been devastated by the virus.
The Princess royal became the patron of save the Children in 2017 after serving as president since 1970.
ITV also announced yesterday that it will be screen a 90-minute documentary on the princess to mark her 70th birthday next month, featuring unseen family footage and interviews with the princess, her family and friends.