The Princess Royal reminisced about sailing in her younger years as she made her first in-person appearance at an official event since her father’s death.
Anne appeared in good spirits as she met with members of the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) on the Isle of Wight on Wednesday – the prestigious club Prince Philip was once admiral of.
The Princess, 70, spoke fondly of her “links” and “early memories of sailing” at the west Cowes-based club, and took time to speak to senior members and a group of aspiring young sailors.
Asked by club commodore Jamie Sheldon about the vessels she had sailed on, Anne said: “I started really with Bloodhound (a yacht). I then regressed to dinghy sailing for a bit.”
Anne – the only daughter of the Queen and the duke – wore sunglasses, a navy blue jacket, black trousers, shoes, gloves and carried a black handbag for the occasion.
She smiled as she spoke with some of the younger sailors and asked about their sailing experience.
The princess left the RYS on a boat called “Warrior”, before arriving at Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Fishbourne around 1.15pm.
Her visit to the club comes ahead of the duke’s funeral this Saturday at Windsor Castle.
Philip, who died aged 99 on Friday, was Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron, patron of a number of clubs and president of the Royal Yachting Association.
It was announced at the weekend the monarchy and their households would observe two weeks of royal mourning, with members of the royal family “continuing to undertake engagements appropriate to the circumstances,” a royal official said.
