A Royal Visit to Barnes

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of photographing HRH Princess Anne during her visit to thank volunteers for Save The Children. As you may know I work as a volunteer photographer for the charity and have photographed a number of events over the past year including the opening of the Barnes shop and an event at Primrose Hill. Mary’s Living & Giving Shops for Save the Children were established in 2009 from a philosophy created for Save the Children by retail expert, Mary Portas and Princess Anne came to the one in Barnes, South West London. I’ve never photographed royalty before and have to admit I was a little nervous on the morning of the visit. I got to Barnes shop an hour or so before Princess Anne was due to arrive and went over the schedule including which photos were most important to get. As you might expect there was a real sense of excitement in anticipation before the royal arrival; we received a 2 minute warning from security officers waiting outside and all of a sudden everyone inside the shop went very quiet. A police escort travelling ahead of the Princess’s car marked her arrival at the shop and in the time it took to get a few shots, Princess Anne had arrived and was already in the shop meeting the volunteers! The Princess made everyone feel very relaxed, spending a number of minutes chatting to everyone who was introduced to her. It was a fantastic experience and after signing the guest book, everyone waved her goodbye as she was driven off to her next engagement. My brief encounter with royalty was over, but it was something I will never forget!