Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen

Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.

Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.

The princess, King Charles's sister, laid a wreath during a ceremony at the B.C. legislature cenotaph to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic, the largest and longest battle of the Second World War, during which Canada lost 24 warships and more than 4,300 Canadian forces and merchant marine members.

Earlier Sunday at Government House, Princess Anne planted a red flowering currant tree and unveiled a plaque to honour her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

“We had the pleasure of going on a walk around the gardens with Princess Royal,” said Patty Grant, Friends of Government House Gardens president. “It was lovely. She is so personable and showed an interest in each and every one of the volunteers.”

Princess Anne was especially taken in by the woodland nature of the grounds, said Valerie Murray, government house horticultural adviser.

“She was most interested in the woodlands,” she said. “The camas is looking fantastic right now and we were able to talk about the unique Garry oak ecosystem. She took pictures of the Garry oak woodlands.”

Murray said the princess was shown a new coronation pathway developed to honour King Charles, including its design to “make it more accessible to the public and to protect the ecosystem.”