Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips arrived in Jamaica, greeted at Norman Manley International Airport by the governor general, mayor of Kingston, and other dignitaries. The Princess, wearing a yellow silk dress, attended a luncheon at King's House and visited schools. The day concluded with a dinner at King's House. Their schedule also included visits to the Papine Industrial Training Centre and Polio Rehabilitation Centre before a dinner at Jamaica House hosted by Prime Minister Manley and Mrs Manley.

PUBLISHED THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1973

Princess Anne, Mark here

- COUPLE VISIT SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, CHILDREN’S HOME, HOPE GARDENS

THE VISIT TO JAMAICA of Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband, Captain Mark Phillips, began yesterday when, on the dot of 12:30 p.m., a Hawker Siddley 748 Royal Air Force plane of the Queen’s Flight landed at the Norman Manley International Airport.

On the tarmac, Their Excellencies the Governor General the Most Hon Florizel Glasspole and Mrs Glasspole headed the small welcome group which included the Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Algon Samuels and Mrs Samuels; British High Commissioner John Hemmings and Mrs Hemmings; Neville Smith, the governor general’s secretary; Louis Boothe, chief of protocol; Assistant Commissioner of Police Douglas McFarlane; Airport Manager W.R. McIntosh; Major Angus Patterson and Governor General’s ADC, Lt John McFarlane.

The Princess was radiant in a sunny, yellow silk dress which had polka dots and stripes in black.  Her hat was a sombrero of yellow with black band and she wore low-heeled white shoes and carried a matching white leather bag.

The presentations to the Princess and Captain Phillips were soon over and then the entourage left the airport, the Princess and her husband waving to spectators on the airport waving gallery. Along the route, there were groups of spectators, including many schoolchildren.

AT KING’S HOUSE

The Princess travelled in a limousine with the governor general while Her Excellency Mrs Glasspole was in the car with Captain Phillips.  Other members of the party followed in other cars.

On arrival at King’s House, the visitors met members of staff who included R.E. Murray, F. Smith, E. Deans and V. Dawkins.

Soon after, Princess Anne and Captain Phillips joined the governor general and Mrs Glasspole and a number of guests at a luncheon where ackee was an item on the menu. Grace McFarlane, one of Jamaica’s leading young pianists, provided an interlude of entertainment.

By 3:20 p.m., the Princess and her husband, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, and equerry and others, left King’s House to visit the Lister Mair Gilby School for the Deaf, the National Children’s Home and Staff Training Centre at Papine and Hope Gardens.

Crowds of people gathered around the schools and waited in Hope Gardens, in the area of the green house, for a glimpse of the royal couple.

At the Lister Mair/Gilby School, the couple was greeted by the Douglas Manley, minister of youth and community development.

Before starting their tour, a number of people were presented to them.  They were Herbert Hall, chairman of the School Committee and chairman of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf; Jeane Robinson, the supervisor of the School for the Deaf; Fay Davis, escretary of the Deaf Association; Pearl Titus, house mother for the hostel, Valerie Facey, a member of the executive of the Jamaica Association In Aid of the Deaf; and Violet Clarke, headmistress of the school.  The introduction was by A.R. Margah, chief children’s officer in the Ministry of Youth and Community Development.

Classes

In the administrative block of the school, they viewed the pupils' hard work and, in the assembly hall, watched some of them sing. They saw various classes in progress, including one in speech, presented by Clufren Williams and which employed the royal visit as the subject.

At the end of the tour – on which they were escorted by Clarke and Hall – Princess Anne and Captain Phillips received a presentation from Janett Bailey, a senior student of the school.

The party then walked to the Children’s Home, outside which there were also crowds of spectators.

At the home, Dr Manley presented Mr and Mrs Fay Truman, the administrators of the home, and Rev Caleb Couslna, Methodist moderator, and Mrs Cousins.

The Trumans then led on a tour of the home, during which Captain Phillips spoke with the children.  Members of the staff were presented and three-year-old July Smith gave the Princess a bouquet.

Returning to their car, five outriders escorted the couple to the Hope Gardens greenhouse, where they were met by the Hon Keble Munn, the minister of agriculture.

Munn presented R.E. Murray, the acting permanent secretary in the ministry, and Dr L. McLaren, the chief technical officer in the ministry, to the royal couple.

Botany

Last night, the governor general and Mrs Glasspole were hosts at a dinner where guests were Prime Minister Michael Manley and Mrs Manley, the Rev R.I. Nelson and Mrs Nelson, the Hon David Coore and Mrs Coore, the Hon Dr Kenneth McNeill and Mrs McNeill, the Hon Keble Munn and Mrs Munn, the Hon Ripton MacPherson and Mrs MacPherson, the Hon Kenneth Smith and Mrs Smith, the Rt Hon Hugh Shearer, Mr and Mrs John Hennings, Mr and Mrs John Harrington, Mrs Winnifred Gaskin and Mr Berkley Gaskin, Mr and Mrs Charles Archibald, Mr and Mrs Jose Caballero Bazan, and Mrs Edna Manley.

After dinner, the oyral visitors posed for a formal photograph with the governor general, Mrs Glasspole, the prime minister and Mrs Manley.

The party then proceeded to the ballroom at King’s House where a variety concert of Jamaican folk music and dances were presented, featuring the Jamaican Folk Singers, pupils of the Greenwich Town Primary School, the Boys’ Town Music Club, the Spanish Town Dancers, and students of the Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive School.

Today’s itinerary for the Princess and Captain Phillips begins at 9:30 a.m. when they leave King’s House for the Papine Industrial Training Centre and then to the Polio Rehabilitation Centre at Mona. From there, the party goes to Morant Bay, the Princess Margaret Hospital in Morant Bay, returning to Kingston after lunch at Blue Mahoe.

The evening’s highlight will be a dinner to be given at Jamaica House by Prime Minister Manley and Mrs Manley.

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