Princess Anne’s one worry about her first trip to Hong Kong: ‘rich and exotic Oriental food’
- The queen’s ‘tall, blonde, 21-year-old daughter likes her food simple and straightforward’, her friends said
- But the royal needn’t have been concerned, and left with ‘the wonderful memory, above all else, of a happy and friendly people’
“Princess Anne to visit Hongkong,” ran a headline in the South China Morning Post on July 27, 1971. “The full itinerary of her visit is not yet known. But she will arrive in the Colony on Tuesday, October 26, and will stay here until Monday, November 1,” the story continued.
She would be arriving “in her capacity as Colonel-in-Chief of the 14th/20th King’s Hussars” and would also oversee “some of the activities of the Save the Children Fund”, of which she was president.
On October 17, the Post reported that the young royal had just one “worry” concerning her trip: “rich and exotic Oriental food”. “The Queen’s tall, blonde, 21-year-old daughter likes her food simple and straightforward, her friends say [...] Still, she is looking forward eagerly to her first visit to the Far East.”
A 22-page, hour-by-hour programme of the royal schedule was released on October 23. Three days later, “radiant in a stylish knee-length beige suit and a matching wide-brimmed hat”, Princess Anne arrived to a warm welcome from the people of Hong Kong.
Her event-filled itinerary included a visit to Man Mo temple, where she “immersed herself in Buddhist custom”; laying the foundation stone for a hospital in Lai Chi Kok; meeting inhabitants of the Save the Children Fund rehabilitation centre, at Wong Tai Sin; and proving herself a “fine markswoman” at the Ha Tsuen shooting range. The princess also made time for a spot of shopping and “became a China watcher”, at least for a short while, ending a horse ride in the New Territories with a look across the border.
Speaking during a live telecast on her final morning in Hong Kong, Princess Anne said: “I have had a wonderful time here, and when I leave later today I will take with me the wonderful memory, above all else, of a happy and friendly people.”
