After two weeks away from her royal duties, the Princess Royal returned to work on Wednesday with no less than five scheduled engagements. A severe chest infection had previously kept her homebound for the past fortnight – cancelling many engagements.
On Wednesday, the Princess Royal attended a variety of engagements including a reception held at Catch22, an organisation she serves as Patron.
The charity, which serves as a social business but is a not for profit has been in existence for over 200 years. It works to unite communities by working as a business. Catch22 designs and delivers social services to communities. It works to strengthen them and their residents. Catch22 has three guiding principles which are: being more human, unlocking capacity in communities and championing local accountability.
The Princess Royal is also Patron of the Wellington Trust and attended the centenary lecture of the sinking of the HMS Hood held by the HMS Hood Association, an association comprised of survivors of the tragedy and family members of those lost at sea.
Yet again as Patron, the Queen’s daughter attended a dinner at Saint James Palace held by the Development Trust for the Mentally Handicapped. This organisation was established in 1987 and supports both children and adults with mental disabilities.
The final two engagements on the Princess Royal’s agenda involved visiting Scottow Enterprise Park, a new player on the commercial business scene, and Bunn Fertiliser Limited who were celebrating their 200th anniversary.
The Princess has been off work for the past two weeks after recovering from a severe chest infection. She has also had to cancel an overseas visit to Botswana and Mozambique following medical advice. Anne’s brother, The Duke of York, will now go in her place.
It is extremely rare for the 66-year-old to cancel engagements. She is often dubbed the ‘hardest working royal’ having conducted more engagements than any other member of The Royal Family last year.