Princess Anne has made a secret visit to Ukraine at the request of the British government – at the age of 75.
The King’s sister spent Tuesday in Kyiv, amid a media blackout-out, where she met with President Zelenskyy and movingly laid a toy bear at a memorial commemorating children who have died since the start of the conflict.
Buckingham Palace said her visit was designed to ‘demonstrate solidarity with the children and families living through the Russian invasion’, as well as highlighting the traumatic experiences of children living on the frontline of the conflict.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office-backed trip makes her the second member of the working Royal Family to visit the war-torn country, following a visit by the Duchess of Edinburgh last year.
Prince Harry was in the country in early September privately.
During her meeting with President Zelenskyy the princess – who regularly tops the list of the country’s hardest working royals and shows no sign of slowing down or retiring – discussed the UK’s support for Ukraine and the country’s ongoing resistance.
Looking business-like in flat boots, grey trousers, an overcoat and patterned scarf, the Princess greeted the Ukrainian President with a firm handshake and appeared to hand him a personal letter from her brother, King Charles, with his distinctive cypher on the back of the envelope.
King Charles has made no secret of his support for the European nation, which he has previously described as having ‘suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack’ and highlighted Russia’s ‘brutal aggression’.
Just last week he was lauded for helping to change US President Donald Trump’s stance on support for their cause.
Princess Anne has made a secret visit to Ukraine at the request of the British government — September 30, 2025
The Princess Royal meets with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, to discuss the UK’s support for Ukraine — September 30, 2025
Yesterday his sister toured St Sofia’s Cathedral, as well as paying her respects at the Children’s Memorial alongside First Lady Zelenska.
She also met female Police and Armed Forces representatives and heard about their vital role in the protection of women and children in a packed day of engagements.
Later she visited the Child Rights Protection Centre, which is working to help more than 19,500 Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported by the Russian authorities to Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine.
She heard from families and children who have been returned and reintegrated, and spoke to those working tirelessly to return more Ukrainian children.
Her Royal Highness also visited a Rehabilitation Centre where she met Ukrainian veterans returning from the frontline, including service personnel learning to live with injuries and conflict-related trauma.
She witnessed a canine therapy session and spoke to veterans adjusting to civilian life with disabilities and injuries sustained in combat.
Later the princess, who is now 18th in line to the throne, visited the Kherson Cultural Exhibition, which pays tribute to its rich history.
The King’s sister travelled to the war-torn country on Tuesday, where she left a toy bear at a children’s memorial in a poignant tribute to youngsters killed in the conflict — September 30, 2025
The Princess Royal hands a letter to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during her visit to Ukraine — September 30, 2025
President Zelenskyy and Princess Anne share a smile as they meet at St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv — September 30, 2025
Like her nephew, Prince Harry, Princess Anne arrived by train during her visit in Kyiv — September 30, 2025
Princess Anne and Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska visit a memorial for children who were killed during Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine — September 30, 2025
The royal visits a physiotherapy session in a rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian war veterans — September 30, 2025
She is pictured here with the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko visiting the dog therapy department at a rehabilitation centre in Kyiv — September 30, 2025
Princess Anne visits a World War Two museum in the base of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv — September 30, 2025
Kherson was occupied at the start of the conflict before liberation by the Ukrainian forces, serving as a symbol of Ukraine’s strength, resistance and struggle.
The exhibition has been supported by the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU), led by the UK and supported by partner countries.
PFRU supports liberated communities to recover, engaging with them to address gaps in services.
Two weeks ago, Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Ukraine as part of his work for the Invictus Games and to support Ukraine’s tens of thousands of injured veterans.
Following his trip to the UK, the Duke of Sussex flew to Poland, and then caught a train to the Ukrainian capital.
‘I had to check with my wife and the British government to make sure it was OK’, the Prince admitted during his visit.
It came following a successful trip to the UK to support his charities and meet his father King Charles, which lasted a mere 54 minutes.
During his trip, Harry said his tell-all memoir Spare and his Netflix series were ‘not about revenge’. He said he also believes he didn’t air his ‘dirty laundry in public’.
And he appeared to make a thinly veiled swipe at his brother Prince William as he said: ‘You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.’
During a sit-down interview with The Guardian in Kyiv, he said: ‘I know that [speaking out] annoys some people and it goes against the narrative.
‘The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected.’
Princess Anne is shown around the St Sophia’s Cathedral during her secret visit to Ukraine — September 30, 2025
The Princess Royal and Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska (left) visit a memorial for children killed in the conflict in Kyiv — September 20, 2025
She is pictured here during her tour of a rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian veterans in Kyiv — September 30, 2025
Princess Anne talks with Ukrainian service members and veterans at a World War Two museum in Kyiv — September 20, 2025
Her Royal Highness dropped into a salt therapy room in a rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian war veterans in Kyiv — September 20, 2025
Princess Anne stands next to Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska at a memorial for children who have been killed since the start of the conflict — September 20, 2025
Princess Anne visits the music therapy department in a rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian war veterans during a visit to the Ukrainian capital — September 20, 2025
Princess Anne talks with Ukrainian police officers in a World War Two museum, Kyiv — September 30, 2025
He added: ‘I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible. My conscience is clear.’
‘It is not about revenge, it is about accountability,’ he said.
Harry also revealed the words of wisdom his wife, Meghan, gave him were to ‘just stick to the truth’.
Harry’s 416-page tome Spare made a series of jaw-dropping claims and laid bare the rift within the Royal Family.
One accusation aimed at his brother accused William of leaving Harry with visible ‘scrapes and bruises’ after an alleged attack.
He claimed: ‘[William] grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.’
It also claimed William teased Harry about his panic attacks and that King Charles put his own interests above his second son, and saw Harry reference taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms and his enjoyment of the TV show Friends.
The Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction book ever after being published by Penguin Random House in January 2023.
