Princess Anne misses Scotland's rugby match to step in for King Charles on important trip

The Princess Royal has long been an avid supporter of Scotland's national rugby union team, but she missed the squad's victory against England on Saturday.

Instead, Princess Anne, 73, flew to Namibia, arriving on Saturday afternoon, according to the Court Circular.

The royal was asked to represent King Charles at the burial service for Dr Hage Gottfried Geingob (former President of the Republic of Namibia) which was held at Heroes’ Acre, Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday.

She later attended a state luncheon given by the new President of the Republic of Namibia, Nangola Mbumba. And on Saturday when she arrived, Anne paid a visit to Dr Geingob's widow, Mrs Monica Geingos.

It was a short visit to Namibia as the Princess is due to attend the British Horseracing Authority's Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards 2024 at Ascot Racecourse on Monday.

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Since the King's cancer diagnosis, as announced on 5 February by Buckingham Palace, Charles has postponed all public-facing duties, but is continuing with behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers.

Last Friday, the palace shared footage of the King looking through some of the 7,000 messages of support he's received from the public as he told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that he's had "so many wonderful messages and cards" that have "reduced me to tears most of the time".

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Charles will miss a special memorial service for his second cousin, the late King Constantine II, former king of Greece, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

Queen Camilla will lead the royals at the service, which are likely to include Princess Anne and Prince William.

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After a busy week of engagements, the Princess Royal will travel to Jebel Ali, Dubai on Friday 1 March for the Seafarers Awareness and Orientation Day in her role as President of the Mission to Seafarers.

The day also happens to be her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence's 69^th birthday. It has not been confirmed in the royal diary whether Sir Tim, who has been married to Anne for over 32 years, will join her in Dubai.