Princess Anne kicked off her royal visit to China with a tour of Beijing’s Forbidden City.
The 66-year-old Princess Royal began her five-day official visit to the Asian country on Monday (03.07.17), 12 years since she last set foot on Chinese soil, and was given a private tour of the Forbidden City on Tuesday (04.07.17) to welcome her to the nation.
She was given the tour alongside Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who praised the Royal Family for heir support.
According to Chinese news outlet Xinhuanet.com, Liu said: "China appreciates the special and significant role the British Royal Family has played in enhancing the two countries’ wide-ranging cooperation and people-to-people exchanges."
Whilst Anne won’t be in China for long, she will be spotted in two major cities later this week as she’s due to attend royal engagements in both Wuhan and Changsha.
The Princess’ visit to China comes as the country celebrates the 45th Anniversary of UK-China Ambassadorial ties, with both countries hoping to strengthen relationships as a result of the royal visit.
Princess Anne last made a trip to China in 2005 on another relationship strengthening mission, as she aimed to keep up appearances ahead of the 2008 Olympics which were held in Beijing, and were the last games before 2012’s event in London.
During her previous visit, Anne – who is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip – also visited charities, which included looking at the work of Save the Children in China, and is expected to do the same during her current tour.
Meanwhile, whilst Princess Anne is not visiting Hong Kong during her trip, this month marks the 20th anniversary since her brother Prince Charles made the trip east as the country was officially handed over to China from under UK rule.
Princess Anne gets tour of Beijing’s Forbidden City
