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Princess Anne to visit Wiltshire


Britain’s Princess Royal will visit Wiltshire next month to present the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The 63-year-old Royal is expected to pay a visit to the small town of Devizes in the west of England to attend the headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, where she will present the foundation with their honour – which was awarded to them in last year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List – on April 7.

Chairman of the trust, Rob Dean, told the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: "She will meet about 50 of our volunteers and staff members but there will be a lot more of them at the Wharf to welcome her.

"We are absolutely delighted that she is coming to present the award in person. It means a lot to us."

During the trip, Princess Anne – who is Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter – will also enjoy a short narrowboat trip prior to her meeting at the trust, which will then be followed by her official opening of the new Bronze Age galleries at the Wiltshire Museum.

The Princess will then complete her tour of the town with a reception in the town hall for the local, and one of the longest running branches, of the Save the Children charity for which she is President.

The short trip will not be Anne’s first visit to Devizes however, as she presented the keynote address at a conference for carers in 2007 and prior to that inaugurated a housing estate on the grounds of a former hospital and visited Canon’s House children’s home in 1999.