Princess Anne has been honoured with an orchid named after her during a two-day visit to Singapore, where she also took time to admire a bloom dedicated to her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, more than 50 years ago.
The Princess Royal visited the National Orchid Garden on Wednesday, describing the ceremony to name her own flower as “very special”.
Accompanied by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the princess was presented with the vibrant purple “Dendrobium Anne” in a pot.
Dressed in an orange jacket over a patterned blue dress, she received the flower’s official “birth certificate” from Hwang Yu-Ning, chief executive officer of the National Parks Board Singapore.
Anne expressed her gratitude, stating: “Thank you for that. That’s very special, thank you very much.”
Following the presentation, the princess signed the guest book and posed for a photograph alongside her husband, British high commissioner to the Republic of Singapore Nikesh Mehta OBE, and Ms Hwang.
She was then guided through the VIP garden, a dedicated display featuring orchid hybrids named in honour of heads of state and international dignitaries, with an umbrella providing shelter from the elements.
She stopped for about a minute to look at the flower called “Dendrobium Elizabeth”, named after her mother.
Anne remarked that the flower named after the late Queen, which should be yellow, was “more green” because it had not completely bloomed yet.
Six orchids have been named after members of the royal family, including the Queen Elizabeth during her 1972 visit, and the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2012.
William and Kate saw an orchid named after the prince’s late mother Diana during their south-east Asia tour 13 years ago, which she did not see before her death in 1997.
When Anne was driven away from the orchid garden in a Range Rover, a woman excitedly shouted “Princess Anne” and waved towards the car with other onlookers.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.independent.co.uk ’
