Hundreds of excited onlookers gathered to watch and cheer in a Suffolk seaside town as Anne, the Princess Royal made the first visit by a senior member of the Royal family since 2008.
The daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II took a tour of Southwold's Adnams brewery and spoke to staff to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the well-known Suffolk company, which runs pubs, hotels, distilleries, wine merchants and shops.
Her trip was the first since the then Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) and Duchess of Cornwall arrived in Southwold in July 2008 to enjoy a taste of local food, drink and art, including a 'carbon neutral' East Green beer.
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She was greeted by warm applause by the crowds in the town's Market Place as she stepped out of a black Range Rover for her first stop - to speak to staff inside The Swan in Southwold.
She then spent some time in the Adnams visitor centre behind the hotel before heading off to see the lighthouse and Adnams' Sole Bay Brewery in East Green.
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Environmental sustainability was a big theme of her visit and she spoke to staff about how Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil was being used in 40% of the company's vehicle fleet.
Reydon resident Matt Sheppard was among the crowd gathered opposite The Swan.
He said he had heard about the Royal visit through a relative who worked for Adnams.
"It is great to have a Royal coming to visit the town," he said.
Diana Larkins and Julie Windell, both from Southwold, were also among the onlookers and said they had heard about the visit through the town's mayor Will Windell.
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Diana was also present when the Princess Royal last visited the town in 1986 and remembered her arriving by helicopter on The Common.
She said: "She is very welcome in Southwold. It is worth celebrating 150 years of Adnams and the sustainability awareness is very important."
Nick Attfield, director of hospitality and retail at Adnams, said the visit was a 'natural conclusion' to a year of celebration for the firm, which was founded in 1872 by brothers George and Ernest Adnams.
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He added: "It is a really lovely and special way of bringing this 150th anniversary to a close. It is also a really lovely way to involve quite a few of the staff.
"We have had a tricky couple of years so it is a nice way to celebrate what we do and the diverse business that we are."
While walking to the visitor centre, the Princess Royal stopped briefly to chat to housekeeping staff who had formed a line as she walked past.
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Housekeeper Jhelisa Partridge said the Princess Royal asked how long they had been working for Adnams and whether they enjoyed it.
She also spoke at length to Fergus Fitzgerald, head of production at Adnams, about the particular strain of Adnams yeast that has been used in brewing processes since the 1920s.
They also discussed the history of beer transportation and how it had changed from being delivered by horse to begin with, through to the present day move to environmentally-sustainable vegetable oil fuels to power the fleet.
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Mr Fitzgerald said the visit also marked the fact that Adnams had received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for sustainable development on three occasions, most recently in April 2020.
He described the Royal visitor as 'very engaging,' adding: "She knew lots about transport to start with, all the way through to electrification and hydro fuel. She knew lots about those topics."
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