More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Her Royal Highness Princess Anne has landed in Kent on an unannounced visit.
The Princess Royal stopped in Ashford for a whirlwind visit after landing in South Willesborough in a helicopter.
Watch: Princess Anne lands in Ashford. Video: David Sheppard
The Queen's only daughter was seen getting out of the Royal Household helicopter on the Bromley Green football club grounds this morning at about 10.15am.
She was then whisked into a waiting vehicle and driven to an as-yet unknown location.
It is believed that she was attending an event related to horseriding and equestrian care, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Onlookers spotted her entourage returning to the field at around 11.45am, where the mother-of-two got back into the helicopter and quickly took off.
This is the latest in a number of the much-loved royal's visits to the Garden of England, after she most recently appeared in nearby Tenterden to open a £7.5m sheltered housing complex in Danemore.
It came just weeks after she paid a trip to Medway and Maidstone hospitals in December.
On her visit to Maidstone, she officially opened the hospital's new helipad, which will mainly be used by the air ambulance.
In honour of her 70th birthday earlier this year, KentOnline took a look back at her 81 seperate engagements in the county.
Her Royal Highness is also a keen sportswoman, winning BBC Sports Personality of the year in 1971 and is the mother of Olympic silver medal-winning Zara Phillips.
Horseriding appears to be one of the biggest pulls for the passionate equestrian, including in Kent in 2017 when she headed to the Arrow riding centre in Darenth Park Avenue, Dartford.
She once again arrived via helicopter, touching down at the nearby Leigh Academy, and was shown round the centre and introduced to those who keep it running.
At the time the centre was aiming to raise more than £200,000 for a few key projects later that year, including £196,000 for an extension of the indoor area, which would make it eligible to host qualifying events for the Paralympics.
The 70-year-old has visited Kent a number of times for sports-related trips, including in November 1986 when she took part in the 3pm Leeds Amateur Riders' Stakes, at Folkestone racecourse.
Just 14 years prior to her Folkestone race she became the first member of the Royal family to compete in the Kent County Show, where she again came third in the Spillers Open competition.
In August 1968, she was pictured with her mother keenly watching the Eridge Horse Trials in Tunbridge Wells.
Queen Elizabeth handed out trophies for the event, including a fifth place rosette for her only daughter who came fifth in the class for novice under-21s.
