The Princess Royal visits the Falklands and South Georgia
Published
Her Royal Highness pays her first visit to the Falkland Islands since 2009, and makes her first official visit to South Georgia, marking the 100th Anniversary of Shackleton's 'Endurance' expedition.
During her stay in Stanley in the Falkland Islands, The Princess Royal visited the town’s historic Dockyard, Museum, Conservation Watch Group, and King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Day Centre.
Her Royal Highness unveiled a Commonwealth Walkway marker, just as The Queen did during her visit to Malta in 2015.
After her visit to Stanley, The Princess Royal set sail for her first official visit to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The Princess Royal's journey to South Georgia gave the opportunity to see at first hand the unique environment and heritage of the island, discuss the work of the Government and its partners on these and other issues, and mark the centenary of Shackleton’s crossing of the island.
Her Royal Highness also met those who work on the Island, to show her appreciation for the important roles they undertake in a remote and hostile environment, including scientists at the British Antarctic Survey's research station at King Edward Point.
There was also the small business of opening the renovated Post Office at Grytviken.
The Princess Royal continued her visit to South Georgia with a trip to the Gold Harbour, Bird Island and the South Georgia Museum, where she met South Georgia Heritage Trust staff.
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to share this occasion with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and I am delighted that she has been able to make this official visit.”
Her Royal Highness then encountered some of the vast natural diversity of South Georgia as she met penguins and seals on the island's Gold Harbour.
The Princess Royal also visited Bird Island, named by Captain Cook “on account of the vast numbers [of birds] that were upon it” on its discovery in 1775.
The Princess then departed South Georgia for a brief stop over in the Falklands, visiting Fox Bay in West Falkland, where she met residents there, before departing home to the UK.
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