Princess Anne made a rare appearance from her Gloucestershire estate, Gatcombe Park, on Tuesday. Looking elegant as ever, the Princess Royal sported a smart patterned scarf as she introduced the winners of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Royal Engineering 2021 via video link.
The 70-year-old royal paid tribute to engineers who have been working tirelessly to solve the challenges caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, thanking them for helping us stay connected to our loved ones via technology.
Princess Anne was smartly dressed for the occasion, wrapping a cream and black printed scarf around her neck and accessorising with pearl earrings. She added a slick of berry coloured lipstick to complete her video call look.
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WATCH: Princess Anne speaks from Gatcombe Park
Pearls are one of Princess Anne's go-to jewellery looks, and a timeless trend loved by everyone from Duchess Catherine to Sophie Wessex.
A tweet introducing the video read: "As part of today's #QEPrize2021 announcement, HRH The Princess Royal shared a message of support and thanks to the engineers who have turned their attention to solving the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. #QEPrize2021 @RoyalFamily".
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Speaking to camera, Princess Anne declared: "The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of literally everybody in some way around the globe and has presented us all with challenges we could not have anticipated.
The Princess Royal was introducing the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Royal Engineering
"But, as is always the case, engineering has risen to those challenges with energy, ingenuity and a spirt of collaboration.
"Since its inaugural award in 2013, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Royal Engineering has recognised those whose work exemplifies those qualities. Without their efforts, life during the pandemic would have been very different.
"The pioneers of the internet and the developers of digital imaging systems and GPS have enabled us to keep in touch with friends and family and to continue to do business across the globe."
Princess Anne lives on Gatcombe Park estate
The global £1million prize, which celebrates a ground-breaking innovation in engineering, was awarded to Isamu Akasaki, Shuji Nakamura, Nick Holonyak Jr, M. George Craford and Russell Dupuis for their work on LEDs.
Princess Anne has been busy during the pandemic, carrying out her royal duties remotely from Gatcombe Park. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's daughter has been keeping in touch with her patronages and charities thanks to video and telephone calls.
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Anne lives at the estate with her second husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she married in 1992.
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