Princess Anne was on a whistle-stop visit to Nicosia on Thursday and met British troops from her honourary regiment serving on the island as part of British Forces Cyprus and the United Nations.

The Princess Royal is the Royal Colonel of The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) who are the British peace-keeping force serving at the UN base in Nicosia. The Princess inspected a guard of honour before undertaking a tour of the well-known ‘Green Line’ which divides the capital.

The Princess then spoke with troops serving with the Battalion.  Private Daryl Campbell, 19, from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire was honoured to meet his Royal Colonel, and said “The Jocks and Rangers really appreciate that someone so important took the time to visit us, it’s great for morale.”

Speaking at the UN, the Princess told the assembled troops “I’m confident that you do this as well as you do everything else, as you approach all the roles that you do, with a consummate professionalism. Thank you for another job well done.”

During her Cyprus visit, the Princess also took the opportunity to meet British Forces personnel based in RAF Akrotiri, who are working tirelessly supporting operations over Iraq and Syria, a BFC announcement said.

She was also able to spend time with members of The Royal Logistics Corp, who are instrumental in providing specialist support functions on the air base. The Princess was also able to meet members of other corps and regiments of which she is Colonel in Chief.

Before leaving, the Princess was welcomed by 903 Expeditionary Air Wing RAF, who have been conducting the air campaigns over Iraq and most recently Syria. During this brief she was able to get a better understanding of how the air operation is conducted and to meet those involved.