A member of the royal family visited one of Swindon's street parties over the coronation weekend.

Excited neighbours in Belmont Crescent, near Old Town, welcomed Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence to their festivities.

The Princess Royal spent just over an hour meeting local dignitaries, handing out gifts to children, and chatting with smiling citizens in the sunshine.

Swindon Advertiser: Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence in Swindon on SundayPrincess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence in Swindon on Sunday (Image: Newsquest)

Her Royal Highness brought some Tiffins cakes to contribute to the buffet of food set up on the leafy street and received a bouquet of posies from nine-year-old Olivia Battye and her 14-year-old sister Sophie.

Florist Rosemary Main said: "It was wonderful, ideal. She was very friendly and extremely nice to talk to, and said the posies were beautiful.

"I've made bouquets for the royal family before - I met Princess Margaret when she opened the old hospital and Townsend House."

Swindon Advertiser: Princess Anne with Jeremy Holt on Belmont CrescentPrincess Anne with Jeremy Holt on Belmont Crescent (Image: Newsquest)

Neighbours Bryan, Anne, and John were full of praise for the princess.

Anne said: "She spoke to a lot of people and was lovely to talk to, very relaxed, and so was her husband. This was the icing on the cake after Saturday's coronation."

Swindon Advertiser: Princess Anne with Jeremy Holt on Belmont CrescentPrincess Anne with Jeremy Holt on Belmont Crescent (Image: Newsquest)

Jeremy Holt co-organised the street party with Jennifer Thompson, praising the police and the offices of the Lord Lieutenant and Princess Royal for their help.

He said: "I'm very impressed by her, I've always liked her - and like her even more now that I've met her.

"She has a genuine interest in people, she is what the monarchy is all about, she's hard-working and quietly gets on with it in an unobtrusive way.

"She was very keen to talk about things people have some past connection with her.

"I'm delighted that she came here today."

Swindon Advertiser: Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence in Swindon on SundayPrincess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence in Swindon on Sunday (Image: Newsquest)

Jeremy gathered the crowd of eager onlookers together to thank Her Royal Highness for visiting and to give three loud cheers of hip hip hooray for her brother, who - he joked - has just got a new job.

Mayor Abdul Amin, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire Mrs Sarah Troughton, and High Sheriff of Wiltshire Pradeep Bhardwaj greeted the special guest.

Coun Amin added: "It was a huge honour to meet Princess Anne and a real privilege to finish my mayoral year with this celebration of the coronation. This is a massive thing for Swindon, the country, and the world.

"We had a good chat about Swindon and her visits to Bangladesh. The crowd was fantastic, and the organisers did us proud."

Swindon Advertiser: Princess Anne with Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and a neighbour on Belmont CrescentPrincess Anne with Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and a neighbour on Belmont Crescent (Image: Newsquest)

Swindon Advertiser: Princess Anne samples the buffet at a Swindon street partyPrincess Anne samples the buffet at a Swindon street party (Image: Swindon Borough Council)