Kicking off on 9 November, the 75-year-old will make her way Down Under, accompanied by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. Staying in Australia until 11 November, Princess Anne will mark the Centenary of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals. Then, between 12-13 November, the pair will be in Singapore, where the Princess Royal will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the nation and Britain.
It is by no means the first time that Anne has been to Australia. Indeed, the late Queen’s only daughter has visited the country 20 times during her career, first setting foot in Oz back in 1970. Aged just 19 at the time, the visit offered an early insight into the pragmatic sense of duty that would characterise the Princess’s career – though The Australian Women’s Weekly did note that the young royal was ‘a little shy’ at the time.
Princess Anne was described as ‘shy’ during her first visit to Australia with her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1970
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‘It takes courage for Princess Anne to do this thing of on the royal tour walking into the crowds and talking to them,’ the outlet wrote. ‘Once with the crowd, Anne is happy, though she is unlikely to be smiling as she approaches. Her face is more likely to look thoughtful.’ What follows is a brisk summation of the Princess Royal’s attitude to the job, even to this day: ‘Anne has no time for small talk, and she will not insult people’s intelligence with trite remarks or banalities.’
The announcement that Princess Anne and Sir Timothy are set to return to Australia comes after speculation that the Prince and Princess of Wales might be planning to fly Down Under on a state visit. Anthony Albanese, the nation’s Prime Minister, fuelled rumours during an interview with News Corp, when he said: ‘I’m certainly hoping there will be one, there’s a standing invitation that the royal family are always welcome in Australia.’ The Prime Minister then went on to reference the last royal visit to the country, when the King and Queen spent six days there last October.