Princess Anne’s visit to Thailand brought royal diplomacy and football support for young people, as she met King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida before joining a community sports programme in Bangkok.
The Princess Royal and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence, were received by King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) and Queen Suthida during an audience at the Royal Palace as Anne continued her official tour of South Korea and Thailand.
Photographs from the meeting showed the Thai King wearing a black mourning armband, while several members of the royal household were also dressed in black as the country continues its period of mourning following the death of the King’s daughter.
Later in Bangkok, she attended a Play for Change sporting event organised by Save the Children and the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, where she met former England striker Emile Heskey and spent time with children taking part in football activities.
Addressing guests, Anne spoke about the wider importance of sport beyond winning trophies.
“I know the value of football, and I know the value of sport in so many different ways,” she said.
“It’s not just about competition. These values really lie in building confidence and teamwork and talent, and the confidence to have that talent and to deal with success and failure.”
The Princess also brought some humour to her speech following England’s defeat to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup semi-final, acknowledging the disappointment felt by Liverpool Foundation representatives attending the event.
“And for those who are here from the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, we’re having to deal with failure this morning and some of you didn’t get much sleep, so I apologise,” she joked.
Her remarks came shortly after King Charles made his own light-hearted reference to England’s defeat during a visit to a brewery in Dorset, where he joked it was “maybe a good day to drown a few sorrows.”
Prince William also shared his disappointment after the match, saying he was “gutted” by the result while praising the team’s efforts.
Speaking after meeting the Princess Royal, Emile Heskey said football had naturally become part of the conversation.
“Everyone’s talking about the match,” he said.
“She did talk about the match. It was a little bit disappointing but again I always say we’ve done really well, we’re on the right track – next time, next time.”
During the engagement, Princess Anne also met members of Thailand’s national football team and watched children take part in coaching sessions designed to encourage confidence, teamwork and participation through sport.
Earlier in the day, Anne also held talks with Thailand’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul.
2026-07-16 20:21:00
