The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Anne tour kicks off in Sri Lanka
The Princess Royal has been welcomed to Sri Lanka with a performance by traditional dancers – as she carried some of her own bags off the plane.
Princess Anne had a bag in each hand as she walked down the plane’s steps with husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence for the start of a three-day visit celebrating the UK’s ties with the Commonwealth country.
A large group of dancers and musicians performed for the couple, with drummers playing a hypnotic beat in the hot and humid conditions.
The princess is visiting the country at the request of the Foreign Office to mark the UK’s bilateral relations with the nation, including a meeting with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife, Maithree.
Andrew Patrick, the British high commissioner to Sri Lanka, was among the dignitaries who formally welcomed the princess.
He said of the whistle-stop tour: “This visit is the best possible way to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.”
Princess Anne will undertake engagements and meet local communities and faith groups in the capital, Colombo, the city of Kandy, and Jaffna on the northern tip of the island, home to many of the country’s Tamil community.
Mr Patrick 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.”
Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, gained independence in 1948 after more than a century of British rule.
The 73-year-old princess has been dubbed the King’s “right-hand woman” thanks to her support for her brother, and her reputation as one of the hardest-working royals.
The trip is the royal family’s first overseas tour of 2024.
Princess Anne’s first stop in Colombo was a visit to the factory of MAS, a company producing sportswear and active lifestyle clothing, including tops for tennis star Novak Djokovic.
Princess Anne is president of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, and she heard about the efforts of MAS, which works with Loughborough University to develop its cuttingedge sports clothing, to create sustainable products.