Anne is performing her royal duties abroad

Princess Anne’s absence at the annual Service of Remembrance on Sunday didn’t go unnoticed as she continues her Australia trip.

Now, the reason behind the Princess Royal’s no-show has been explained.

The king led the Remembrance Sunday service (Credit: CoverImages.com)

Royal family attends Service of Remembrance in London

November 9 saw the royals unite to commemorate those who were involved in the two world wars and later conflicts at the annual National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, a war memorial on Whitehall in London.

Amongst the royals present were King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince Edward, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke of Kent.

They were joined by some 10,000 armed forces veterans, as well as 20 WWII veterans.

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, as well as former PMs John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak also attended.

However, Anne, Princess Royal, wasn’t in attendance this year.
The Princess Royal is currently visiting Australia (Credit: Photo by Damian Shaw/EPA/Shutterstock)

Where was Princess Anne?

Anne did have good reason not to attend the service.

The Princess Royal is currently in Australia with her husband Sir Timothy Laurence. This obviously made an appearance at yesterday’s service impossible.

Anne is Down Under to mark the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, of which she is the Colonel-in-Chief.

As well as visiting Australia, Anne and Timothy will travel to Singapore. Their visit is to mark mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Singapore.

During her time in Australia, Anne will undertake a series of military engagements in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Anne in Australia

On Saturday, a picture of Anne and her husband meeting Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, and her husband, Simeon Beckett, as they arrived in Oz was uploaded to Mostyn’s official Instagram.

“The Governor-General and Mr Beckett were delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence to Admiralty House today. On arrival, Cammeraygal Elder Brendan Kerin gave a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony in honour of their visit,” she wrote.

“The Princess Royal is Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australia Corps of Signals. In her role, she is visiting Australia to join the Signals Corps across the country in celebrating their centenary.

“As Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force, the Governor-General will join Her Royal Highness tomorrow in laying a wreath at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park before attending a ceremonial parade in honour of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals at Victoria Barracks.”

Princess Anne’s trip to Australia and Singapore

On Wednesday (November 12), Anne and Timothy will travel to Singapore for a two-day visit.

Anne will be in the country to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Singapore.

Her busy two day visit includes a meeting with the president, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and the prime minister, Lawrence Wong.