Princess Anne will travel to Greece this week on an official three-day visit, the British Embassy in Athens has confirmed, with a program spanning the capital and the island of Crete. She will be accompanied by her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence. The visit runs from Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24.
The visit centers on the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete, the ten-day airborne invasion launched by Nazi Germany in May 1941. Commonwealth forces fought alongside Greek soldiers and Cretan civilians in what became one of the most fiercely contested engagements of the Second World War.
Athens, Friday, May 22
The Princess Royal will open her visit in Athens with a meeting at the Presidential Palace with President Konstantinos Tasoulas, Greece’s head of state. She will then visit the National Coordination Center for Operations and Crisis Management (ESKEDIK), under the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, where she will receive a briefing on the center’s national emergency preparedness and crisis management mandate and tour its facilities.
Later in the day, the Princess Royal will attend a luncheon hosted in her honor by Melina Travlou, President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, and members of the union’s board.
Crete, Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24
The commemorative portion of the visit begins on Saturday in Chania. The Princess Royal will attend a memorial service at the RAF monument in Maleme, site of the airfield whose capture proved decisive in the German victory, honoring the fallen of No. 30 Squadron and No. 33 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
She will then attend the annual Service of Remembrance at the Souda Bay Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, organized each year by the British Embassy to honor British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought alongside Greek forces in May 1941. The cemetery holds the graves of more than 1,500 Allied servicemen. The ceremony will include a flypast by aircraft from No. 30 Squadron and by the Red Arrows, the RAF aerobatic display team.
Following the service, the Princess Royal will have the opportunity to meet descendants of Cretan fighters who participated in the 1941 campaign, as well as British veterans who have since made Crete their home.
On Sunday, the Princess Royal will attend an official doxology service at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Chania and a parade involving local cultural associations carrying traditional banners and flags. Another Red Arrows flypast is planned during the event. She is also scheduled to visit the Maritime Museum of Crete, where exhibitions related to the Battle of Crete are housed.
Buckingham Palace described the trip as Princess Anne’s first official overseas engagement since attending the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The visit also marks her first return to Greece since March 2025.
