Prince and Princess Michael of Kent arrive in Sri Lanka

(Tatler) Prince Michael of Kent, 81, the Queen’s first cousin has arrived in Colombo with his wife Princess Michael of Kent. The pair were decorated upon arrival at Sri Lanka’s tourism bureau with garlands of flowers. They follow hot on the heels of Princess Anne, who made the first official royal visit of the year as she toured Sri Lanka for three days earlier this month.

Princess Anne has become known for her no-nonsense, hardworking approach to royal life. In fact, she has become regarded as a kind of quiet engine to the royal family; a vital source of energy as well as intimate counsel for the King. She has, nevertheless, managed to find time still to pull off some show-stoppingly glamorous appearances, such as at the royal banquet in November, which saw a visit from South Korea hosted at Buckingham Palace.

The Princess Royal’s straight-talking attitude to her royal duties was very much on display as she flew commercial to Sri Lanka, choosing Sri Lanka Airlines, which thanked her with an exuberant Instagram post. The Princess also carried her own luggage and made a clearly discernible effort to re-wear old items of clothing, championing sustainability, re-use and upcycling. During her time in the crisis-stricken South Asian nation, the Princess, along with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, visited Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna. She also met with president Ranil Wickremesinghe who succeeded Gotabaya Rajapaksa after the latter fled the country in 2022 during mass protests.

As for Prince Michael, it is not clear whether he is in Sri Lanka on holiday or on business. He has visited Sri Lanka before, in 2008, at which time he opened a villa. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent are not part of the working royal family – though they remain part of the wider family contingent, and were in attendance at King Charles’s customary Christmas lunch last year.