The Princess Royal unveiled a plaque to cement the occasion

Princess Anne has officially opened a learning centre at Kensington Palace as the Royal Family showcased students engaged in tasks.

The space, which is designed to support young minds, was full of pupils from Ark Brunel Primary Academy who “spent the day learning in the space and met with The Princess Royal”.

Anne engaged with the students and spoke with teachers as she observed the facility in action.

A statement shared by Historic Royal Palaces read: “It was a pleasure to welcome HRH The Princess Royal… to officially open the Clore Learning Centre, a purpose-built learning facility.”

The Princess Royal officially opened the learning centre in Kensington Palace

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The charity looks after sites from several historical royal areas, such as Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, and Hillsborough.

The project came to fruition due to the support of the Clore Duffield Foundation and a series of dedicated backers.

Anne unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening, which read: “Clore Learning Centre, Opened By HRH The Princess Royal, on March 17, 2026, Kensington Palace”.

The Princess Royal’s visit comes after several appearances at Scotland’s rugby fixtures in the Six Nations, where she showed off her humour with Scottish Rugby captain Sione Tuipulotu.

Anne unveiled the plaque to commemorate the visit

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Anne finally embraced Mr Tuipulotu, giving the skipper a hug, which he had been seeking for weeks.

The Princess Royal, who serves as patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, was filmed warmly hugging the 29-year-old sportsman following Scotland’s concluding Six Nations fixture against Ireland on March 14.

The touching moment came after Anne had twice sidestepped Mr Tuipulotu’s attempts at an embrace during previous matches in the tournament.

Scottish Rugby shared footage of the encounter on social media with the caption: “Sione finally gets his hug,” prompting an outpouring of affection from royal watchers across the country.

Mr Tuipulotu was left delighted after finally getting a hug from Princess Anne

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Admirers of the Royal Family took to X and Instagram in droves to express their delight at the heartwarming scene.

“So human and brilliant” was how one user described the Princess Royal, whilst another remarked that she appeared to be “such a down-to-earth royal”.

Others labelled Anne “classy” and a “great ambassador of Scottish Rugby,” with one commenter predicting the captain would “cherish that hug”.

In the footage captured inside the visiting team’s changing room at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, Mr Tuipulotu can be heard expressing his gratitude.

Princess Anne and Sione Tuipulotu mocked their viral moment from February | GETTY

“Thank you so much for the hug,” he told Anne, before joking: “Away from the crowd!”

The saga that captured the nation’s attention began on February 14, when Anne transformed Mr Tuipulotu’s enthusiastic attempt at an embrace into a polite handshake, placing her hand on his shoulder instead, following Scotland’s victory over England.

The pair then shared an amusing exchange on March 7 after the team’s triumph against France, when both playfully opened their arms simultaneously in a knowing nod to their earlier encounter.

Royal watchers praised Anne’s “fun” and “wonderful” nature following the light-hearted moment during the Auld Alliance Trophy presentation.

Mr Tuipulotu addressed the viral incident in an interview with ITV Sport, insisting: “I’m vibing with Princess Anne, and I don’t feel like she thinks I’m in trouble.”