Princess Anne gets us excited for the festive season in bold coat and colourful scarf

The Princess Royal looked effortlessly chic as she wrapped up against the chill in London on Tuesday.

Anne, 75, donned a bold red coat with a burgundy pleated skirt and tasselled boots as she attended an annual conference for her patronage, the British Nutrition Foundation, at The Royal College of Physicians.

The royal completed her look with a colourful scarf, keeping the accessory on as she delivered a speech in front of guests.

She also sported a gold knotted brooch, made by Scottish jeweller, Alf Grant, and pearl stud earrings.

Anne has been patron of the British Nutrition Foundation since 1988 and regularly carries out engagements with the charity, which aims to give people reliable information on nutrition by working with academics, food industry experts and third sector organisations. It advocates for change to create a future where everyone can access a healthy sustainable diet.

© British Nutrition Foundation

The Princess is a supporter of the Foundation's Healthy Eating Week, visiting schools to talk to students about where food produce comes from and the importance of eating well.

During her remarks, 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. It is part of the basic requirements of life, and it attaches to all sorts of other subjects."

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The Princess acknowledged, that with the internet, there is a wealth of knowledge for parents and teachers to teach their children about healthy eating, but that can make it a challenge to get the message across to youngsters.

"We all know that children's taste buds don't always match their parents, even with the best intentions," she said. "I won't tell you what I refused to eat, but it's been largely consistent and I've got this far," which prompted laughter from the audience.

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Later in the day, Anne also travelled to the University of Hertfordshire to open its SPECTRA building – its new £100m state-of-the-art School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science – which has been six years in the making.

It comes ahead of an annual Christmas tea party the Princess will host for The Not Forgotten Association at St James's Palace in London on Thursday.