Kent have confirmed their club president for 2025 - returning to the post for a second time.

Sir Timothy Laurence was originally appointed as club president for 2020 - the club’s 150th anniversary year - but the outbreak of the Covid pandemic hampered both his presidency and Kent’s celebrations.

The 69-year-old will succeed Judy Ufton on January 1 until the end of that calendar year.

“It’s both an honour and a privilege to be asked to take on the presidency for a second time,” said the husband of Princess Anne.

“I look forward to becoming more closely involved with the club again and to providing whatever support and encouragement I can.”

Kent chairman Simon Philip said: “We’re delighted that Sir Tim has accepted the presidency of the club once more after holding the post five years ago.

“Our 150th anniversary year and Tim’s presidency didn’t turn out as planned and so it’s great that Tim will now be able to enjoy fully being president, and we will be able to benefit from his input into the club and our men’s and women’s cricket.”

Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence KCVO, CB, ADC(P) has a strong connection to Kent Cricket and a lifelong passion for the game.

Having been brought up in Ightham, he was educated at Sevenoaks School, where he was a key member of their first team. He batted at the top of the order, with ex-Kent captain Chris Tavaré and former Kent director of cricket Paul Downton.

He attended Durham University, where he represented his college cricket team.

Upon leaving Durham, he completed his initial training at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth. During his distinguished naval career, Sir Tim commanded four warships and held several Ministry of Defence positions, including chief executive defence estates.

Since his retirement from the Navy in 2010, Sir Tim pursues a number of non-executive and charitable interests. These included being chairman of English Heritage which has many historic sites across Kent, vice-chairman of The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and a Trustee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and HMS Victory.

Sir Tim has been married to Princess Anne since December 1992.

He will be Kent Cricket’s eighth multi-year president but the first club president to have more than one year in the role non-consecutively.