Royal seal of approval as Princess Anne visits National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool

The Princess Royal spent around two hours touring the National Museum of the Royal Navy hearing about the plans and signed the visitors’ book onboard HMS Trincomalee.

Her Royal Highness took a great interest in the site and the next phase of its development to bring more tourists to the town.

They include a new extension which will show off the vessel RML 497, which provided air sea rescue during the Second World War, and is currently being restored in a purpose-built shed.

The Princess also heard about plans by Hartlepool Borough Council to redevelop the adjacent waterfront site into a new leisure hub with outdoor events space and new leisure centre.

It was her first visit to the museum since it was taken over by the National Museum of the Royal Navy, which Princess Anne is patron of, in 2016.

Roslyn Adamson, general manager of the Hartlepool site, said: “She was very interested to know what our plans are. RML 497 will be the focal point of a new extension that will allow us to tell the story of the modern navy.

“We hope to draw more visitors to the museum and hopefully at the end of the development the princess will come back to see the results.”

A new learning centre to provide learning and skills training opportunities for local people is also part of the plans.

And last summer a new children’s pirate ship and play area was opened which has helped boost visitor numbers by 20%.

Princess Anne was accompanied by dignitaries including the Ceremonial Mayor of Hartlepool Councillor Brenda Loynes, and council Chief Executive Gill Alexander.

Ms Alexander said: “Today has been a really landmark moment for us. It marks the beginning of a new phase of development for the maritime experience and the work we are doing jointly with the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

“We explained how the whole development is going to be integrated and means we’re going to have one of the best visitor attractions in the North East in Hartlepool.”