Princess Anne hosts annual Christmas Tea Party at St James’s Palace with husband Sir Timothy

The Princess Royal was joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence

Princess Anne hosted the annual charity Christmas Tea Party for The Not Forgotten Association this afternoon.

The Not Forgotten Association is a tri-service charity, of which the Princess Royal is a patron.

The charity provides entertainment, respite, and challenge events for injured, ill, or isolated veterans and serving personnel of all ages, ranks, and backgrounds.

Through their work, they improve physical and mental health, build confidence, reconnect and restore purpose, and change lives.

This year, The Not Forgotten Association commemorated the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day, as well as celebrating 105 years since the charity was founded in the wake of World War One.

The Not Forgotten Association supported 10,000 veterans in its first year in 1920, and continues to help 10,000 beneficiaries every year.

Princess Anne was seen at The Royal College of Physicians in London on Tuesday as the royal’s busy calendar of events continues in the lead up to Christmas.

Anne has been a patron of the British Nutrition Foundation since 1988 and regularly carries out engagements for the charity.

The Princess Royal hosts annual Christmas Tea Party at St James’s Palac

The 75-year-old was additionally at the conference to talk on the importance of food education.

The charity aims to provide families and young children with reliable nutrition information by working with academics and food experts.

During her speech, Anne emphasised that children are never too young to learn about food, saying: “It really does make a difference to raise that level of respect for nutrition at all levels, at all ages.

“Food education, wherever you’re coming from, should never be left out.

Timothy Laurence pictured at the same tea party

“It is part of the basic requirements of life, and it attaches to all sorts of other subjects.”

The princess is a supporter of the Foundation’s Healthy Eating Week, where she visits schools to talk to students about where food comes from and the importance of eating well.

Anne acknowledged that, with the wealth of knowledge available on the internet, there are many resources for parents and teachers to educate their children about healthy eating.

However, it can be a challenge to get the message across to young people.

Princess Anne hosted the tea party at St James’s Palace in London

She continued to say: “We all know that children’s taste buds don’t always match their parents, even with the best intentions.”

She went on to joke: “I won’t tell you what I refused to eat, but it’s been largely consistent, and I’ve got this far,” which caused the audience to laugh.

Later in the day, the Princess Royal travelled to the University of Hertfordshire to open the SPECTRA building.

The new building is a £100million state-of-the-art School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science area, which has been six years in the making.