Princess Anne becomes first Royal to visit remote Channel peninsula
Princess Anne has become the first member of the Royal family to visit Little Sark.
The Princess Royal was joined by her husband, Vice Adml Sir Tim Laurence, on the Channel Islands peninsula as they marked the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of the Bailiwick.
The pair met residents of Little Sark and travelled by horse and carriage to La Coupée, a narrow walkway connecting Little Sark to Sark, where they heard about its history and recent erosion and repair work.
The Princess, wearing a green jacket, dark trousers and sunglasses, received a briefing on two Second World War commando raids on Sark – Operation Basalt, in October 1942 and Operation Hardtack, in December 1943.
The raids were aimed at gathering intelligence and capturing German prisoners.
The royal couple later visited La Société Sercquaise (the Sark Society), an organisation founded in 1975 to study, preserve and enhance Sark's natural environment and cultural heritage, before attending the anniversary celebrations.
After planting a silver birch tree to commemorate the anniversary, Princess Anne visited an exhibition on the Second World War at Old Island Hall.
The exhibition focused on the island's experiences during the German occupation, with each display covering a different aspect of the occupation years.
This included a section on The Deportees – residents of Sark who were deported by the German occupying forces, such as Nellie Le Feuvre, who met with the Princess. Mrs Le Feuvre was deported to the Biberach camp in Germany.
The Princess concluded her visit at the Sark Observatory, meeting volunteers and viewing the sun through a solar telescope.
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