MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Princess Anne praises achievements of Falklands Forty anniversary and belonging to the BOTs Family

Princess Anne surrounded by penguins at the Bleaker Island nature reserve

“Lots of people should be looking to you as a very good example as to what can be achieved”, said Princess Anne in one of several receptions she was honored with during her six day visit to the Falkland Islands to mark the 40th anniversary of the Liberation of the Islands and the projection to the future of the dynamic British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic.

The Princess Royal also thanked Falklands residents for their support for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth and for being a “very important part of the British Overseas Territories Family”.

In terms of the Falklands 40th anniversary, Princess Anne said her visit to the Islands had helped her understand what people faced when they came to the Falklands. She knew and was well aware when the Veterans came back to the Islands they were “hugely grateful for the reception and caring they have received.”

Princess Anne said their visit was a huge revelation to them, “and I suspect it has helped a lot of them to overcome memories”

However “on the other side of that coin” Princess Anne visit to the Falklands museum and the exhibition had reminded her of “the impact the war had on Falkland Islanders, something people did not talk about very much”, and that had made her think that if Islanders found it difficult to talk about the conflict “maybe it’s the Veterans that will help them do that,” overcoming memories of the past.

She added: “but I think a lot of us understand that those were not easy times, it was frightening and difficult and these things can be left behind and out of sight and maybe this particular anniversary will have helped get it very much on the front pages of everybody’s memories…”

Her Royal Highness hoped the anniversary would contribute to help people see that they all assisted in moving the conflict forwards to its, “successful conclusion and that was in a number of different ways.”

Princess Anne said she hoped people would also recognize what Islanders had achieved since the conflict in those 40 years “the economic, social development, conservation and environment, the establishment of the fisheries programs, the forward looking attitude...”

“Islanders have made a huge impact and have been very successful with a very small footprint in order to achieve it, an example to look at” pointed out the Princess Royal.

During her six day visit to the Falklands Princess Anne not only marked the 40th anniversary of the Liberation of the Islands, met with Veterans and paid her respects at the different memorials to the fallen in the war but also was able to see how much the Islands have advanced in four decades, the planning for the future, the education and health systems, the commitment to the environment and conservation, the thriving economy, the model and transparent democracy with full autonomy except for defense, and the growing sense of nation.

Among the many gifts presented to Her Royal Highness was an albatross statuette created by local artist Steve Massam, a symbol of the mighty resilient marine birds from the South Atlantic.

At the end of the royal visit, the Falklands government made a brief twitter comment saying “the Falklands were delighted that HRH The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were able to visit our special Islands and hope they look back on their visit with great fondness.”