By The royal family is visiting the island at the request of the UK Foreign Office, as part of a move to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.
They landed in Jaffna on a Sri Lankan military helicopter, where they were welcomed by Tamil schoolchildren and the government-appointed Governor of the Northern Province.
The Princess’s husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, 68, was given the chance to banish bad luck and welcome better fortunes by smashing a coconut to the ground.
Outside, they were offered the chance to feed sacred cows, a revered animal in Hinduism, and the Princess held some vegetation as they munched away.
The couple toured the library “where they heard of its significance to the community and met with key individuals from the fields of education, arts and culture,” said the British High Commission in Sri Lanka.
The library was one of the largest libraries in Asia and housed over 97,000 unique and irreplaceable Tamil palm leaves (ola), manuscripts, parchments, books, magazines and newspapers, before its destruction in 1981.
Princess’s Ann’s visit to the Jaffna library has been reported by many Tamil community websites with mention of the burning down of the Jaffna library.
Meanwhile, the British media was more interested in Princess Ann’s fashion sense ”
“The Princess Royal, 73, a long-time champion of recycling whenever possible, sported a pair of sunglasses in Sri Lanka this week that she has had for more than a decade.
And in an interview marking the end of her three-day visit, she spoke out against fast fashion, suggesting that it may be time to return to traditional tailoring methods” Reported the telegraph.
“Asked in Sri Lanka about her workload, she described herself as the “eyes and ears” of the monarchy and someone who is committed to travelling around the country to support those “doing an incredibly good job” added the Telegraph. Portraying the Princess as a hard-working royal is another British spinn for the tour.
