Princess visit to Sri Lanka

On the first two days of her tour to the South Asian nation, the princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence, traversed the nation to visit a temple, a factory, a hospital, and more. Princess Anne arrived recently for a three-day trip in Sri Lanka to celebrate its close relationship with the UK over the nearly 76 years since the country declared independence. She flew a commercial airway and carted her own bags off the plane, but she did still get a royal welcome at the airport in Katunayake. A throng of dancers in traditional costume greeted the princess, who was wearing her trademark Adidas sunglasses, as she arrived with her husband, Sir Tim Laurence.

In her trademark sunglasses and a no-nonsense tan suit, Anne started her day with a visit to a Colombo garment factory owned by MAS Holdings, one of Sri Lanka’s largest employers. During the tour, where she was accompanied by British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick, she viewed some of the products, including bras and underwear, that the company has made for British department store Marks and Spencer.

Anne is a longtime patron of the charity Save The Children, and 2024 also marks the organization’s 50th year operating in Sri Lanka. After the factory tour, Anne visited the Save the Children country office in the Wellawatte neighborhood of Colombo and spoke with staff. Later, she travelled to a nearby hospital to see one of the charity’s social and emotional learning programs for children in action.

Later on, Anne and Laurence visited President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife, Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe,  at the President’s House in Colombo, where they were also joined by the nation’s minister of foreign affairs, Ali Sabry. Anne wore a formal outfit complete with elbow-length white gloves, a shawl, and a three-strand pearl necklace, presumably one that used to belong to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The trip continued with an outing to Kandy, to visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which is the country’s primary Buddhist temple. It was followed by a visit to a public library in Jaffna. The day continued in nearby Muhamalai with a Halo Trust event, where she met with residents who had resettled in the area after landmines were cleared with the assistance of the charity and its benefactors in the UK. Anne wore her sunglasses and a customary garland of jasmine flowers around her neck as she chatted with the community.

The first two days of the three-day tour saw its royal visitors traverse the large country. Patrick told the visiting press that the High Commission of Sri Lanka hoped to show Anne as much of the country as possible. “That’s the aim, to show her as much of the country, as much of the diversity as we can,” he said. He added that her visit to the city of Jaffna marked the first time a British royal had visited the area in “many, many years.”

Visit to the British Council

The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence visited the British Council office in Colombo for a series of engagements as part of their visit to Sri Lanka.

They were welcomed at the British Council with a traditional dance performance by school children from the Dikhena school. They then viewed the ‘Arches of Awe’ exhibition at the British Council library which has been curated by diplomatic historian and curator George Cooke.

The panel exhibition comprised of photographs of the 21 arches that were erected across Colombo to welcome Their Royal Highnesses Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during their visit to Sri Lanka in 1954. Dating back centuries, such archways, also known as ‘thoranas’ were found across Asia, including in India, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Often connected to traditional religious rituals, these arches have symbolised good fortune, victories and conveyed greetings to visitors.

This was followed by a meeting with leading Sri Lankan arts organisations who have worked with the British Council to celebrate 75 years of UK-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations in 2023-24. Representatives were present from the Museum of Modern Art (MMCA), The National Trust Sri Lanka, Design Development Corporation, Ceylon Theatres, Scope Cinemas, Agenda14 and The Gratiaen Trust.