Princess Anne visits estate opened by late Queen

The Princess Royal attended an estate in Derby opened by her mother, the late Queen, to mark its 70th anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II opened the Leylands Estate, for retired retail workers, in the 1950s.

On Monday, Princess Anne followed in her mother's footsteps after taking over as the patron of the Retail Trust charity earlier this year.

The Princess Royal met residents and staff at the retirement complex, and unveiled a plaque commemorating the visit.

Former florist Jean Cudworth said the visit was "amazing".

"She's such a wonderful, lovely lady - and so interesting," she added.

Despite being "very nervous" about the visit, Ms Cudworth - who said she was new to the complex - said the Princess Royal put her "right at ease".

Leylands Estate is made up of a number of cottages and apartments owned by the Retail Trust charity.

The charity was set up to support the health and wellbeing of people hoping to work in retail, those who already work in retail, and those who have retired from the sector.

Josie Gadsby said she was "really excited" about the visit.

"I always say to people I'm not really a royalist, but I know everything about them, I watch every programme on the TV, I read all the books," she said.

Of Princess Anne, Ms Gadsby said: "She's so lovely, she's absolutely lovely - she reminds me of her mum."

The chief executive of the Retail Trust, Chris Brook-Carter, said it had been a "fabulous day" which meant a lot to both current and former retail workers.

"Retail is a real stalwart of British society.

"Our communities are built around our high streets so to have royal patronage like that is just a great symbol of how important the sector is to the UK," he said.

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