Royal pulls out of huge trip in another health blow for family
A member of the Royal Family has been forced to pull out of a huge trip. Princess Anne is travelling to South Africa for a two-day visit to the nation.
But she will be without her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence after he suffered an injury. The Princess Royal will begin her visit in Cape Town on Tuesday, January 21.
She is understood to be travelling alone after Sir Tim suffered a suspected torn ligament while working on her Gatcombe estate. The former naval officer reportedly needs treatment in the UK and is unable to fly.
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Sir Tim is often a discrete support at his wife's side during her trips, Mirror reports. Despite his low-profile nature, it seems Sir Tim holds a special place in the Royal Family.
The late Queen Elizabeth is thought to have been fond of him. Even thought he did not receive a royal title when he married Princess Anne, he was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order and was also a personal aide-de-camp to the late Queen.
Princess Anne will start her South Africa trip with a project close to her heart – horses supporting the disabled. She will watch riders at the Cape Town-based organisation South African Riding for the Disabled Association.
It is similar to the UK charity Riding for the Disabled, which the princess supports as president. Both use horse riding to support children and adults with physical disabilities.
Later at the British High Commission, Anne will view an exhibition by former England cricketer Nick Compton - who is grandson of batsman Denis Compton. She will also commemorate the sacrifices of black South Africans and other races who played a vital role as military labourers during the First World War.
Anne is president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and will unveil the organisation's Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial. It honours more than 1,700 South Africans who carried out non-combat jobs and died with no known grave or commemoration.
She will also visit the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, which keeps alive the memory and achievements of the former archbishop of Cape Town. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984 for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa.
Anne last visited South Africa in 2012 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. The princess will also visit the Royal Cape Yacht Club and the South African Astronomical Observatory.