Princess Anne’s yacht was repaired using a £20 fan belt from a Vauxhall Astra after the vessel broke down at sea.
The Princess was on a sailing holiday with her husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, off the coast of Scotland when the problem occurred and she recalled the story to yachtswoman Celia Bull at the London Boat Show last month.
Celia, who runs a yacht charter business, explained: "A request was sent out and the good folk of Tobermory commandeered a Vauxhall Astra fan belt to set the royal engine to rights.
"She said it was a really good memory – she loves sailing around the Inner Hebrides.
"The Princess was quite amused the fan belt came off an Astra and was impressed by the resourcefulness of people here finding a way of getting something to work.
"When she came over to the Sail Scotland stand [at the Boat Show] she was not expecting a yachtswoman from [the Isle of] Eigg – her face lit up and told the story."
Celia said the fan belt from the Astra helped ensure that the Princess was eventually able to get back on course.
She explained, according to the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "You cannot cool the engine without the pumps working. It doesn’t matter if it is a £500 boat or a £500,000 boat – you need a fan belt. They phoned around and a belt was found in Tobermory
"The Astra fan belt got them back to where they were going to."
Princess Anne and her husband were given a guided tour of the London Boat Show last month, when they were seen admiring some of the world’s finest and priciest vessels.
Princess Anne’s yacht repaired with a fan belt from a Vauxhall Astra
