Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal visited the Peel Cathedral and the House of Manannan earlier today.
Princess Anne landed on the island from Brize Norton shortly after 11am this morning.
She was greeted by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer and Lady Lorimer, before travelling to Peel Cathedral for a Thanksgiving Service.
Once at the Cathedral, His Excellency presented Her Royal Highness to Chief Minister Alfred Cannan MHK and Dean of Peel Cathedral and Chairman Cathedral Quarter Trust, The Very Reverend Nigel Godfrey.
Peel Cathedral
Some 350 invited guests attended the service, at which Her Royal Highness read a Lesson and, as patron of The Cathedral Church of Saint German Peel Development Appeal, unveiled an engraved floor stone commemorating the £2 million reordering of the cathedral.
Her Royal Highness met groups of appeal donors, project architects and engineers who have supported and worked on the restoration.
The reordering includes significant refurbishment, rearrangement and adaptation of the cathedral which now additionally serves as a community space for secular use.
The cathedral floor has been renovated with underfloor heating, and new toilets, kitchen, chapel and a door on the building’s south entrance have been installed.
House of Manannan
Her Royal Highness then travelled to the House of Manannan, where she was met by Sea Cadets and flag-waving local schoolchildren.
His Excellency then presented Princess Anne to Captain of the Parish of German, Allen Corlett as well as members from Manx National Heritage.
Chief Executive of Manx National Heritage Connie Lovel then escorted Her Royal Highness on a tour of the ‘All at Sea’ exhibition.
The exhibition uncovers some of the tragic events in Manx waters which motivated Manx resident, Sir William Hillary to establish the national maritime lifesaving institution which is the RNLI.
At the exhibition’s feature ‘The RNLI on the Isle of Man today’, operational managers for each of the Island’s five RNLI stations briefed Her Royal Highness on the creation of the organisation.
Royal Visit
Moving into the House of Manannan reception area, Her Royal Highness met RNLI staff, local farmers and fisherman and other members of the community.
Her Royal Highness then proceeded outside where the Mariners Choir sang Ellan Vannin and nine-year-old Aalish Williams will present a posy.
The Princes Royal then headed back to the airport shortly after 2:30pm ahead of events she is attending in the UK this evening.
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