MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Princess Anne arrives in the Falklands and will open the new National Sports Complex

Buckingham Palace presents the trip as a heritage and commemorative visit, although it coincides with a key week in the dispute over the islands

Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles III, arrived in the Falklands on Monday with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, at the start of a visit that will later take her to South Georgia, and among other engagements will formally open the new National Sports Complex in Stanley.

“It’s wonderful to have Her Royal Highness back in the Falklands,” Members of the Legislative Assembly said in a welcome statement. “We are delighted they will get a chance to see the progress made in the Islands since their last visit in 2022.” During her stay, the Princess will meet members of the community and visit Cape Pembroke Lighthouse and Tussac House, as well as attend a reception at Government House.

The visit, which runs until November 20, is in her role as Patron of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, which works to protect the heritage and environment of South Georgia, where she will commemorate the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Buckingham Palace presents the trip as a heritage and commemorative visit, although it coincides with a key week in the dispute over the islands. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is holding hearings in Hamburg on Tuesday and Wednesday on Argentina’s request to halt the Sea Lion oil project, and Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies plans to debate the sovereignty defence bill on Thursday. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.