Princess Anne has become the first member of the Royal Family to ever visit Little Sark – a peninsula in the Channel Islands, south of Sark. The Princess Royal was joined by her husband, Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, as they marked the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of the Bailiwick – when the Channel Islands were liberated from the Nazi occupation during the World War.
King Charles’s sister looked chic and comfortable in a green jacket paired with dark trousers and her signature sunglasses as she arrived at the peninsula. She met with residents of Little Sark and travelled by horse and carriage to La Coupée, a narrow walkway connecting Little Sark to Sark—the main island—where she heard about the place’s history and recent erosion and repair work.
Anne is due to receive a briefing on two commando raids, Operation Basalt and Operation Hardtack, whilst walking part of the East Coast Path.
Operation Basalt (October 1942) and Operation Hardtack (December 1943) were British commando raids on Sark Island during World War II, both aimed at gathering intelligence and capturing German prisoners.
The princess will also visit la Société Sercquaise (the Sark Society – a conservation charity) and speak to volunteers while viewing archaeological artefacts.
She will also attend the Anniversary of the Liberation of Sark Celebrations at the Avenue, where she will meet representatives from the Liberated Generation.
Later in the day, Anne is set to plant a silver birch tree and visit an exhibition on World War II at Old Island Hall.
She will also visit the Sark Observatory, where she will meet volunteers and view the sun through a solar telescope.
On Friday, the Princess Royal visited Guernsey, where she attended a parade at St Peter Port seafront and gave a reading during a service at Town Church.
Anne met school children during the visit and also viewed the Liberation Trail exhibition.
Between 1940 and 1945, the Channel Islands were occupied by German forces – the only part of the British Isles under German control during the Second World War.
German forces formally signed a declaration of surrender on May 9 in Guernsey and the nearby island of Sark was liberated the following day.