Princess Anne left a very personal tribute to children in Ukraine during her top secret visit to the country yesterday. 

The 75-year-old Princess Royal visited Kyiv on Tuesday under a media blackout, where she met President Zelenskyy and placed a toy bear at a memorial honoring children who have died since the conflict began.

Carrying out this visit on behalf of the British government, King Charles’s sister added the teddy to the array of stuffed animals at the Children’s Memorial. 

In a conversation with First Lady Olena Zelenska, Anne explained that the toy bear, adorned with a yellow and black ribbon, held deep meaning as it originally belonged to her daughter, Zara Tindall. 

The Princess said: ‘That was one that my daughter had.’ 

The First Lady, who also left a bear in tribute, appeared to nod in recognition of the moving gesture. 

The site commemorates more than 650 children who have died since the beginning of the conflict with Russia in 2022.   

Her visit follows Prince Harry’s private trip to the region in September, after a brief visit to the UK where he engaged with his patronages and spent 54 minutes in a meeting with his father, the King. 

During her visit to Ukraine, Princess Anne paid a personal tribute by leaving the teddy bear that once belonged to Zara Tindall at a children’s memorial.

The Princess Royal is seen presenting a letter to President Volodymyr Zelensky at St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, discussing the UK’s support for Ukraine.

During her meeting with President Zelenskyy the princess – who regularly tops the list of the country’s hardest working royals and shows no sign of slowing down or retiring – discussed the UK’s support for Ukraine and the country’s ongoing resistance.

Looking business-like in flat boots, grey trousers, an overcoat and patterned scarf, the Princess greeted the Ukrainian President with a firm handshake and appeared to hand him a personal letter from her brother, King Charles, with his distinctive cypher on the back of the envelope. 

King Charles has made no secret of his support for the European nation, which he has previously described as having ‘suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack’ and highlighted Russia’s ‘brutal aggression’.

Just last week he was lauded for helping to change US President Donald Trump’s stance on support for their cause.

Yesterday his sister toured St Sofia’s Cathedral, as well as paying her respects at the Children’s Memorial alongside First Lady Zelenska.

She also met female Police and Armed Forces representatives and heard about their vital role in the protection of women and children in a packed day of engagements.

She visited the Child Rights Protection Centre, which is working to help more than 19,500 Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported by the Russian authorities to Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine.

She heard from families and children who have been returned and reintegrated, and spoke to those working tirelessly to return more Ukrainian children.

The traditional-looking teddy had a black and yellow ribbon tied in a bow around its neck. The Princess Royal is pictured with Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska (left)

Anne told Olena that her daughter Zara ‘had the same bear’ when she was a little girl

Princess Anne stands next to Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska at a memorial for children who have been killed since the start of the conflict 

Princess Anne and Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska visit a memorial for children who were killed during Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine

Her Royal Highness also visited a Rehabilitation Centre where she met Ukrainian veterans returning from the frontline, including service personnel learning to live with injuries and conflict-related trauma.

She witnessed a canine therapy session and spoke to veterans adjusting to civilian life with disabilities and injuries sustained in combat.

Later the princess, who is now 18th in line to the throne, visited the Kherson Cultural Exhibition, which pays tribute to its rich history.

Kherson was occupied at the start of the conflict before liberation by the Ukrainian forces, serving as a symbol of Ukraine’s strength, resistance and struggle.

The exhibition has been supported by the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU), led by the UK and supported by partner countries.

PFRU supports liberated communities to recover, engaging with them to address gaps in services.

Two weeks ago, Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Ukraine as part of his work for the Invictus Games and to support Ukraine’s tens of thousands of injured veterans.

Following his trip to the UK, the Duke of Sussex flew to Poland, and then caught a train to the Ukrainian capital. 

The Princess Royal meets with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, to discuss the UK’s support for Ukraine 

The King’s sister travelled to the war-torn country on Tuesday, where she left a toy bear at a children’s memorial in a poignant tribute to youngsters killed in the conflict 

President Zelenskyy and Princess Anne share a smile as they meet at St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv

Like her nephew, Prince Harry, Princess Anne arrived by train during her visit in Kyiv

‘I had to check with my wife and the British government to make sure it was OK’, the Prince admitted during his visit. 

It came following a successful trip to the UK to support his charities and meet his father King Charles, which lasted a mere 54 minutes. 

During his trip, Harry said his tell-all memoir Spare and his Netflix series were ‘not about revenge’. He said he also believes he didn’t air his ‘dirty laundry in public’. 

And he appeared to make a thinly veiled swipe at his brother Prince William as he said: ‘You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.’

During a sit-down interview with The Guardian in Kyiv, he said: ‘I know that [speaking out] annoys some people and it goes against the narrative.

‘The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected.’

He added: ‘I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible. My conscience is clear.’

‘It is not about revenge, it is about accountability,’ he said.

Harry also revealed the words of wisdom his wife, Meghan, gave him were to ‘just stick to the truth’. 

The royal visits a physiotherapy session in a rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian war veterans

Princess Anne visits a World War Two museum in the base of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv

Princess Anne is shown around the St Sophia’s Cathedral during her secret visit to Ukraine 

Princess Anne talks with Ukrainian service members and veterans at a World War Two museum in Kyiv

Her Royal Highness dropped into a salt therapy room in a rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian war veterans in Kyiv

Harry’s 416-page tome Spare made a series of jaw-dropping claims and laid bare the rift within the Royal Family.

One accusation aimed at his brother accused William of leaving Harry with visible ‘scrapes and bruises’ after an alleged attack. 

He claimed: ‘[William] grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.’ 

It also claimed William teased Harry about his panic attacks and that King Charles put his own interests above his second son, and saw Harry reference taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms and his enjoyment of the TV show Friends. 

The Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction book ever after being published by Penguin Random House in January 2023.