The Princess Royal is said to have been “very impressed” by the work of the International Fire and Rescue Association in Fife in a visit on Tuesday.
Princess Anne arrived in the kingdom for a visit to the charity’s Thornton headquarters shortly before 1pm.
She was pictured leaving her helicopter after it landed at Thornton Memorial Park.
Director David Kay OBE gave her a tour of the facilities at the IFRA, which was set up to support firefighters and emergency services across the world.
The charity, which marked its 20th anniversary with the special engagement, provides equipment and vehicles and also carries out training at its specialist facility in Fife.
In April IFRA donated an ambulance vehicle to Ukraine.
Rescheduled due to Queen’s death
Mr Kay said the two-hour visit went “very well”.
He added: “This is our 20th anniversary so this was rescheduled from the day that the Queen died – we were meant to have it on that day and it was obviously cancelled.”
The event was attended by representatives of four countries who have been supported by the charity.
They were from Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay and Albania.
David said: “They all flew in for this visit as it was quite a special visit.
“Some of them have flown 6,500 miles to be here today.
“And in fact, the Argentinians arrived just three hours before the visit.
“They all wanted to come here and tell the princess how much they valued what we are doing and the support they are getting from the UK as a whole.”
Princess Royal ‘didn’t realise’ size of group
During the engagement the princess was taken around the premises and shown where equipment is stored and how it is maintained and checked before being sent to countries in need.
David said: “She was most interested in the fact that we recycle and reuse, which is obviously helping the environment quite a lot.
“We’re taking it [used equipment] and giving it to other people to use for more years.
“We then took her outside and showed her demonstrations of how we train the firefighters with hazardous materials.
“So we had a couple of the guys dressed up in hazmat suits, which was great considering it was quite cold.
“She was very impressed – she actually said that she didn’t realise the size of the organisation that we had and how much we were helping.”
The princess, who was escorted by the Lord-Lieutenant of Fife Robert Balfour and her lady in waiting, was also introduced to Ross Taggart, interim chief of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Disabled charity visit
Earlier in the day, Princess Anne also visited the Riding for the Disabled Association in Blairgowrie.
Based at Easter Rattray Farm, the charity helps people with learning and physical disabilities to enjoy horse riding and the health benefits that come with it.
She was not the only royal to visit Scotland on Tuesday, with King Charles III also carrying out engagements in the north east.
The King and the Queen Consort are visiting the Victoria and Albert Halls in Aberdeen to learn of the detailed planning that was implemented after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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