While Prince William and his wife Kate have been tipped to make a long-awaited trip to Australia in the coming months, Princess Anne has already made her way Down Under.
King Charles’ sister – known as the Princess Royal – and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, stopped in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
It was all part of her royal tour, which took place from November 8 to 11.
Find out why and see all the best photos from the trip below.
Why was Princess Anne in Australia?
Anne made the journey in her role as Colonel-in-Chief to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals (RA Sigs) – a team of soldiers who are technical specialists that provide communications, electronic warfare and cyber capabilities to support military operations.
She has been serving in this role since 1977.
Her visit marks the 100-year anniversary of the formation of the Corps.
See the photos below.
Anne went to a Remembrance Service at the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park, in Sydney, on November 9.
She was greeted by greeted the Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, and his wife Katy Stuart.
During the service, she also delivered a Remembrance reading and laid a wreath.
The Princess Royal paid tribute to fallen soldiers during the service.
After the service, she spoke with military personnel, and met onlookers.
She was then led out of the memorial by army personnel.
On the same day, the Princess Royal also went to the Centenary Parade at Victoria Barracks.
She changed into her military attire to inspect the troops.
The royal also wore her medals and walked with a sword by her side.
For her second stop in Australia, the Princess Royal went to a Remembrance Day service at Gallipoli Barracks on November 11, in Brisbane.
This year marks 107 years since World War One ended.
She also spoke with soldiers during the visit.
Her attendance also coincided with the Corps Week sports activities. Anne officially marked the event by firing the starting pistol.
She brought a wreath to the service, which she laid to pay her respects to fallen servicemen and women.
During the event, she met with players at the barracks. She also watched a tug of war, and met with retired personnel, their families and Signals’ rugby club representatives that were in attendance.
Before going to Queensland, Anne laid a wreath at the Victoria Police Memorial in Melbourne on November 10, to honour of the two officers shot dead at Porepunkah in August.
After she placed the wreath at the memorial, she met the families and friends of the officers.
Sir Timothy Laurence also attended the Brisbane service.
The visit marked her final day in Australia, before she jetted off to Singapore to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between the nation and Britain.
Princess Anne then officially finished her royal tour of Australia, after visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
What was Princess Anne’s Australian schedule?
While the exact itinerary was not released for security reasons, in an interview with Channel 7’s Sunrise royal commentator Angela Mollard said her visit was highly-anticipated.
“There is so much about her that we love,” Angela told the show.
“The horsewoman, the Olympian, the fact that she has more charities than any other Royal Family member since the Queen died.”
“She is a loyal daughter,” the expert added.
“She is no-nonsense, she gets on with it and says it how it is. She is incredibly knowledgeable, and she takes in the details and remembers people and who they are and what they do. She also has a funny sense of humour.”
She also said her personality suggested that Anne would be hands-on during her tour, which she certainly was.
“The last time she was here was in 2022, and she has long-standing connections,” Angela explained.
“She will touch base with some of those agencies and people she has had relationships with for a long time.”
Has Princess Anne been to Australia before?
Certainly, Anne is no stranger to Australia. The royal has been here more than 20 times before, and her husband’s brother lives in Lismore, NSW – a town that was badly impacted by the 2022 floods.
On her last visit, in 2022, Anne formally opened the 200th Sydney Royal Easter Show – arriving in a horse-drawn carriage before addressing the crowd and thanking the farming community for showing resilience through countless hardships.
During that same tour, Anne met firefighters at the NSW Rural Fire Service HQ in Sydney, where she learned more about the impact of the devastating 2019/2020 bushfire season and met the families of some of those killed.
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