Princess Anne in Beacon Park

Crowds have turned out in force to welcome The Princess Royal to Lichfield.

Princess Anne toured Beacon Park as part of a visit to Staffordshire.

As well as finding out about the changes made as part of the Lichfield Historic Parks Project, the royal visitor also rededicated a newly conserved statue of King Edward VII.

Cllr Val Richards said: “We were all so proud to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Beacon Park, and it was a privilege to be a part of the event and to be introduced to her.

Princess Anne meets schoolchildren in Lichfield
Princess Anne meets schoolchildren in Lichfield

“Princess Anne was interested to hear about the recent conservation and improvement works as part of Lichfield Historic Parks project. She was very complimentary of Beacon Park and I’m delighted that the weather was fine for the visit and that the park looked at its very best on this important day.”

As well as touring the park, Princess Anne also saw the recently unveiled statue of Erasmus Darwin and met the sculptor, Peter Walker.

This was followed by a visit to the new community gardening facility, where The Princess met children, teachers and volunteers from Saxon Hill Community School and Changes – two of the groups that use the facility to learn about gardening, self-sufficiency and wildlife.

Youngsters were also able to impress the royal visitor as they took part in a Community Games sporting challenge.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.