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Anne to leave floral tribute to the fallen on final day of Sri Lankan tour

The Princess Royal has been visiting the Commonwealth nation at the request of the Foreign Office.

Tony Jones
Thursday 11 January 2024 19:01 EST
The Princess Royal visits a resettlement village at the Halo Trust site in Muhamalai during day two of her visit to Sri Lanka (Jonathan Brady/PA)
The Princess Royal visits a resettlement village at the Halo Trust site in Muhamalai during day two of her visit to Sri Lanka (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

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The Princess Royal will visit her first Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery as the organisation’s president, as her tour of Sri Lanka draws to a close.

At the CGWC’s Jawatta Cemetery in Colombo, Anne and her husband will join other dignitaries paying their respects to the fallen.

A short service of remembrance will feature a bugler playing the Last Post before a minute’s silence is held, and Anne will lay a wreath.

During last year’s Remembrance weekend it was announced Anne would take on her new role, succeeding the Duke of Kent who had been president since 1970, and the King was announced as the CWGC’s first patron.

The third and final day of the princess’s Sri Lankan tour will see her visit the Vajira Pillayar Kovil, a Hindu Temple in the capital and receive the blessing of the chief priest.

A string of royal engagements will follow from Anne visiting The Mission to Seafarers, an organisation supporting crewmen and women she serves as president, to touring Hatch Works’ co-working space to meet start-up companies.

At Anne’s final event, a reception marking 75 years of UK-Sri Lankan diplomatic ties, she is expected to say a few words about the relationship between the two countries.

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