'An absolutely brilliant day': A warm welcome for Princess Anne as she visits Londonderry

Her Royal Highness met with veterans in front of the International Sailor statue on Ebrington Square, before joining approximately 30 guests in the Ebrington Hotel, which included Royal Navy personnel, veterans and families, the Royal Naval Association, Canadian naval visitors and naval attaches.

During World War Two, Londonderry and the River Foyle were of immense strategic importance and played a major role in the Battle of the North Atlantic.

The North Atlantic became the crucial supply line for food and munitions to Britain during that period and, in recognition of Londonderry’s vital role for the Allies, it was decided that the River Foyle should be the location of the formal U-Boat surrender.

A series of commemorative events to mark the 80th anniversary are taking place in the area from Thursday to Sunday.

Speaking about Princess Anne’s visit, Robert Buchanan BEM, chairman of the Londonderry branch of the Royal Navy Association, said: “It was an absolutely brilliant day and Princess Anne was very engaging, not only with the veterans, but to absolutely everyone who was present.

“She took her time with everybody and I think she enjoyed her day that much she might have been late for her next engagement.

“It was a really good turn-out and we had a 95-year-old veteran with us, who served in the squadron in the 1950’s and he was delighted to meet the princess.”

On the plans for the 80th anniversary, Mr Buchanan added: “We run the event every year but with it being the 80th anniversary, we wanted to extend it over three days.

“I know Princess Anne was quite impressed by the International Sailor statue which is located at the former Royal Navy base which was used during World War Two.

“It was unveiled in May 2013 when Londonderry was the UK City of Culture.

“At one stage, there could have been 140 ships in the city and 30,000 sailors – so it was certainly busy.

“The city is widely recognised as serving as one of the main escort bases for the northwest approaches during World War Two.”

Local children waved their Union Flags for Princess Anne's first engagement at the Cathedral Youth Club and Community Hub, which first opened its doors in 1972.

The youth club, which was awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2024, has been providing community activities for over 50 years.

This includes programmes for older people, such as art classes, patchwork classes, Irish history classes, IT classes, and inter-generational programmes, sports and healthy living programmes.

The day ended with Princess Anne visiting the Clinical Translational Research & Innovation Centre (C-TRIC) at Altnagelvin Hospital.

C-TRIC is a regional asset that facilitates collaboration between universities and life and health science companies with the NHS, enabling clinical research aimed at improving patient care in the community.