Princess Anne comes face to face with her younger self on busy day with Citizens Advice Bureau

Princess Anne was faced with a version of her younger self on a trip to a Save the Children charity shop in Tring yesterday, on another of her busy days travelling across the country.

As Anne was leaving the shop, which supports a charity she has been patron of for 36 years, she did a double take as she saw herself on the magazine cover in the window. The store front had been decked out with Union flags and Royal memorabilia for the visit.

The magazine was a Daily Mail printed book, part of a ten part series published in 1999 called ‘A Century of Royals’ to celebrate the Royal Family before the millennium.

With ‘The Secret Princess’ written on the cover, the Princess was in her twenties with large 70s style wavy hair and large gold earrings. The Princess Royal giggled as she saw it, before stopping to accept flowers from a young boy.

Next it was to Milton Keynes. Upon her arrival she was greeted by a young naval recruit. The Princess Royal, who is the patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, met staff, volunteers and supporters of the charity at the local branch.

The director, Ben Thomas, emphasized the importance of what the charity does, that helps around 12,500 local people.

He said: “Services are needed and they matter, not just to the ordinary man and woman in the street, but to some of the most vulnerable people who live in our city. The bureau receive questions varying from ‘how do I get online?’ to ‘where can I get food?’ and ‘where can I sleep tonight that’s warm?’.

The CAB offers advice on a range of topics, including employment law, for free. On her visit the Princess presented a £10,000 donation from Santander to the Milton Keynes branch to Support their work and enable them to continue to provide advice for free through their volunteers. Anne has been patron of the UK-wide charity for 26 years.

He also said: “It’s wrong to think of it as just a ‘fundraising arm’, although at its height it secured significant funding for major projects, events and equipment and was impressive in garnering both donations and support in kind. It also began that important work about our message – today we’d probably call it brand awareness.”

The donation from the Spanish bank will see that 120 extra debt and budgeting appointments are available for people in financial difficulty.

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