Buckingham Palace has announced that the Princess Royal will visit the Southern Lake District on 21st March to acknowledge the valuable work provided by volunteer groups in the area, also a great anniversary for one of the local schools.
Princess Anne is President of the Save the Children Fund, and in that capacity, she is visiting the charity’s shop in Windermere, where five of the staff have clocked up over two hundred years volunteering at the shop. Regional manager Jackie Kenyon said: “I am very proud of our team and it’s lovely that Princess Anne is able to come join us in our celebrations.”
The Princess will then move to Kirby Stephen Grammar School where she will acknowledge two anniversaries. The school is celebrating its four hundred and fiftieth anniversary this year, and she will meet members of some of the school’s successful sports teams in netball, hockey, equestrianism, and rugby. This will be very much of interest to the Princess, both her and her daughter’s prowess on horseback is well-known, and Zara Phillips also represented Gordonstoun at hockey.
Whilst at the school, she will also visit the headquarters of Kirby Stephen Mountain Rescue. The team are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary and will meet members and see how their equipment can be used in a major emergency. David Stewart of the group said “We are very chuffed, excited and honoured about this. It’s our 50th anniversary, and this is something different and special to celebrate it with. We are excited to show off our quarters.”
The Princess Royal will also visit Warcop, near Appleby to open their new parish hall. This has been built to replace the halls both in Warcop and nearby Sandford which were beginning to show their age. Chairman of the trustees Raymond Bromby said: “The opening of the parish hall by her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal, we believe will pay tribute to all the people in the community who have given their time so freely to help create this superb facility to help others.”