Princess Anne recalls sailing with Prince Philip in first appearance since his death

‘I was considered a bit too young and a bit of a nuisance,’ recalls Princess Royal

(REUTERS)

The Princess Royal has made her first public appearance since the death of her father, the Duke of Edinburgh.

On Wednesday, Princess Anne met with two yacht clubs on the Isle of Wight, where she spoke about her memories of sailing with her father as a child.

She visited the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Fishbourne.

Princess Anne is the president of the Royal Yachting Association, a position previously held by her father.

The Telegraph reports that during the visit, Anne spoke about how much Prince Philip enjoyed sailing and reminisced about attending regattas with him and his late friend, boat designer Uffa Fox.

Speaking to Jamie Sheldon, the commodore of the squadron at Cowes, the Princess was asked if she sailed on one particular boat with her father, the Flying Fifteen.

Anne replied: “I was considered a bit too young and a bit of a nuisance” before explaining how she had to progress and started sailing with her father on small boats before being allowed to go on bigger ones.

The Princess is officially in a two-week period of mourning, but the Telegraph reports that the Queen gave her daughter permission to visit the two yacht clubs.

The family will gather on Saturday afternoon for Prince Philip’s funeral, which will take place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

No more than 30 people will be permitted to attend the event due to coronavirus restrictions.

However, it’s expected that most senior members of the royal family will be in attendance, including the Duke of Sussex, who flew to London from Los Angeles last weekend.