Princess Anne (72) paid a surprise visit to New York City. According to "People", she should have arrived on Monday. Then on Tuesday, the city's Department of Transportation tweeted a photo of the princess on the Staten Island Ferry.

"We were honored to welcome Her Highness Princess Anne to the Staten Island Ferry," the statement said. The accompanying photo shows the princess standing in front of a pane of glass in a gray cloak, conversing with two men and gazing out over the water. The ferry is one of the most well-known means of public transport in the cosmopolitan city. It takes passengers from Manhattan to Staten Island for free every hour.

Princess Anne flew from London to New York on Monday to speak at a gala hosted by the English-Speaking Union of the United States. A day later she visited the National Lighthouse Museum in St. George.

The museum has been dedicated to the history of lighthouses since 2015 and has appointed Princess Anne as honorary chair of a fundraiser. "The lighthouse still plays a big role," said the princess during a tour of the museum. At one meal, she said it is also "about the impact of what we do to the sea and how we can take better care of it and the way it affects our lives."

Princess Anne is, among other things, patron of the Royal Navy. Her husband Timothy Laurence (67) is also a naval officer. Princess Anne wore a military uniform at the funeral of her mother Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) last month.