The Princess Royal visits Sri Lanka

Day 1: Colombo

At a Welcome Ceremony at Bandaranaike International Airport, Her Royal Highness was received by dignitaries including the British High Commissioner to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mr. Andrew Patrick and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mr. Ali Sabry. 

The Princess’s first visited the MAS Active Factory, one of the largest apparel tech companies in South Asia to be identified by the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) as an important Sri Lankan partner. 

As President of the UKFT, Her Royal Highness had an opportunity to meet staff and tour the facility to hear more about their innovative designs and partnerships with UK brands.

Next, Her Royal Highness visited Save The Children Sri Lanka’s Head Office in Colombo. This year marks 50 years of Save The Children working in Sri Lanka.

The Princess had an opportunity to hear about some of the programmes the charity has provided, which have contributed to humanitarian and development needs across the country, including in education, health and nutrition and vocational skills development. 

As Patron of Save The Children UK, Her Royal Highness unveiled a plaque commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Save The Children working in Sri Lanka.

Following this, The Princess Royal visited Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children to see Save The Children’s Social Emotional Learning Tool Kit Programme, Tilli, in action. 

Her Royal Highness met hospital staff who are implanting the Tilli programme which is a play-based, Social-Emotional Learning tool kit that incorporates evidence-based interventions such as games and story-telling to assist parents and teachers in facilitating meaningful child-friendly discussions with children on topics such as trust, consent, bodies and boundaries. 

The Princess Royal previously visited Sri Lanka in March 1995 with Save The Children to learn more about their projects in the country.

The Princess Royal delivered a message from The King to the President and First Lady of Sri Lanka this evening.

"I would like to extend my very best wishes to Your Excellency and the people of Sri Lanka as we celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of bilateral relations between our two countries, as marked by the visit of my dear sister, The Princess Royal."

- His Majesty The King

Day 2: Kandy and Jaffna

Today, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence began the day at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, in Kandy, the most significant Buddhist Temple in Sri Lanka. 

The Temple, located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha.

At the Temple, The Princess Royal was met by the Acting Chief Custodian of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Mahinda Dela who hosted Her Royal Highness for the visit. Her Royal Highness took part in a traditional ceremony and offered a plate of Jasmine flowers to the tooth relic.

Next, Her Royal Highness travelled to Jaffna, a city on the northern tip of Sri Lanka. At the Jaffna Public Library, The Princess Royal was greeted by the Commissioner of Jaffna Municipal Council, Mr. Thanabalasingham Jayaseelan and Chief Librarian of Jaffna Public Library, Ms Anushiya Sivaharan. 

The Princess Royal received a traditional welcome and was presented with a garland of flowers and received a pottu in the middle of her forehead. During the tour, Her Royal Highness met members of Sri Lanka’s Tamil and northern communities to hear how the Jaffna public library is a symbol of northern education and culture.

On the final visit of the day, HRH visited The Halo Trust’s Muhamalai Demining and Resettlement Site in Muhamalai. 

Joined by The Halo Trust, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Her Royal Highness heared more about the work of UK-funded and international organisations in supporting the clearing of mines and the sustainable resettlement of people on cleared and safe lands.

The princess met members of the community who have been resettled on the land following the successful mine clearance.

Day 3: Colombo

This morning, The Princess Royal visited her first Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Cemetery as their President.

During Remembrance Weekend in November 2023, Buckingham Palace announced that The Princess Royal would become President of the CWGC, taking over from His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent who had been President since 1970. His Majesty The King was also announced as the first Patron of the CWGC.

At the Commission’s Jaawatte Cemetery in Colombo, the largest CWGC site in Sri Lanka, Her Royal Highness was introduced to the Defence Advisor for Sri Lanka and the Maldives’ British High Commission, Colonel Darren Woods who lead a short Service of Remembrance which included an extract from the poem ‘For the Fallen’. A Bugler played the Last Post before a minute’s silence is held. After the Service, Her Royal Highness layed a wreath and viewed some graves, escorted by Colonel Woods.

Next, Her Royal Highness visted Vajira Pillayar Kovil, a Hindu Temple in Colombo. On arrival at the temple, Her Royal Highness and Sir Tim were presented with a garland of jasmine and rose flowers, a silk shawl receive a pottu in the middle of their forehead.

After watching a Hindu Dance Group perform at the entrance of the Temple, The Princess Royal met Chief Priest of Vajira Pillayar Kovil, Sachithanantha Kurukal who conducted a special pooja (blessing). Her Royal Highness also toured the main prayer hall and viewed the shrines.
 

After visiting the Temple, Her Royal Highness travelled to the British Council to hear about their work in building relationships and connections between UK and Sri Lanka through education, arts and cultural ties. HRH viewed The Arches of Awe exhibition which comprises photographs of the 21 arches that were erected across Colombo to welcome The late Queen Elizabeth II and The late Duke of Edinburgh during their visit to Sri Lanka in 1954.  Dating back centuries, similar archways, also known as ‘thoranas’ were found across Asia and were often connected to traditional religious rituals.

The Princess then visited The Mission to Seafarers, an organisation which cares for the welfare of seafarers. The Princess Royal has been its President since 1984. During the visit, HRH toured the recently refurbished Mission to Seafarers centre and opened their new Family Room.

After this The Princess Royal went to Hatch Works’ co-working space to meet a selection of start-up companies, Her Royal Highness attended her final engagement in Sri Lanka, a I Reception, hosted by the British High Commissioner, to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka. Her Royal Highness ended the visit with a few spoken words about the relationship between the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.