A new plaque and a royal portrait: Princess Royal visits Jersey

  • ITV Channel reporter Emma Volney captures Princess Anne's visit to the island.

The Princess Royal visited Jersey today (4 November) for a series of engagements, marking her first visit to the island since 2023.

A look at The Princess Royal's visit in pictures:

Princess Anne began her trip with a tour of Jersey's newly renovated £12 million Opera House, where she met those responsible for the running of the historic building and unveiled a plaque to mark its 125th anniversary.

Her Royal Highness said: "Congratulations to all of you for being involved. I suspect that for many people it seems like a very long time since there wasn’t a theatre here, and now it feels as though it was just the other day - because you are going to be really busy."

"Best wishes with that, and I hope it goes really well."

Princess Anne looks at the new photo wallpaper which explores the history of the venue, along with memories from islanders. Credit: ITV Channel

Chris Wink, who spoke with Princess Anne, told ITV News: "She is very knowledgeable. There was a lot of talk about accessibility and how we’ve been able to reduce, reuse and recycle as many things as possible.

"It was wonderful - she is an absolutely lovely person to chat to, very down to earth. It was lovely to talk to someone who was so genuinely interested in what we were chatting about."

  • Watch the moment Princess Anne unveils the plaque.

The Royal Court Building was next on The Princess Royal’s schedule, where she unveiled a portrait of Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla - capturing their last visit to Jersey in paint.

The Princess Royal visits Royal Court to reveal the portrait of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Credit: ITV Channel
The Bailiff, Robert MacRae, says: "We are honoured that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal graciously unveiled it for us today.” Credit: ITV Channel

Artist Jason Butler said: "I wanted to focus on Their Majesties’ genuine enjoyment of the occasion and the obvious connection they had with the many people who came to be part of it all - the image of them walking through the rain, smiling and engaging with islanders."

The Princess Royal also visited the Old Library to meet members and supporters of The Royal Air Forces Association.

As a patron of Durrell, Princess Anne went on to attend the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's annual lecture.

Durrell Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Brewer said: "We are delighted to welcome our Patron, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, to speak at this momentous event. Her Royal Highness attended the lecture that launched this strategy back in 2017, so it’s rather fitting to have her here for its close.

"We hope our members and supporters will join us for this wonderful event as we honour a century of Gerry and celebrate the extraordinary conservation impact of the international charity he founded."

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