Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, jetted off to their next important royal duty following their appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The King’s sister returned to England as she attended the North Sails Cowes Week 2026 with a fitting and impressive way to two centuries of a key event.
She fired the historic Royal Yacht Squadron cannon to start racing at Cowes Week, as the regatta celebrated 200 years of racing on the Solent.
“There could hardly have been a more fitting way to mark 200 years of Cowes Week than to see The Princess Royal fire the Royal Yacht Squadron cannon and send another generation of sailors out onto the Solent,” Bruce Huber, Chairman Elect of Cowes Week Limited, said.
“Her Royal Highness has a very personal connection with Cowes Week – from watching her father race here as a girl to competing herself – and today she was able to see the Bicentenary racing at close quarters. Following the 21-gun salute, it made for an incredibly special morning and a memorable moment in the history of the regatta.”
Princess Anne is the Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Patron of the Island Sailing Club and Patron of UKSA.
The event holds personal attachment to Anne as she attended it since she was a little girl, accompanying her father Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who also raced on the Solent.
She later became a competitor herself and, in 2014, raced aboard UKSA’s Farr 65 Albatross II, helming the yacht across the finish line ahead of sistership Whirlwind II, aboard which her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, was racing.
2026-08-03 16:41:00
