ACCEPTING GOOD WISHES FOR THE KING THE PRINCESS ROYAL HAS HER CAKE AND EATS IT AS SHE MEETS RIDERS, HORSES AND MARTIN CLUNES

It was business as usual for the Princess Royal, who pressed ahead with a busy schedule of official engagements amid her family's health woes.

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Princess Anne appeared upbeat and as stoic as ever during a visit to a riding school in West London, where she smiled and thanked her hosts as they expressed their best wishes for the King and the Princess of Wales.

"We wish you and your family well at this time," Sister Mary Joy Langdon, founder and chief executive of the Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre, told her.

James Hick, chief executive of the British Horse Society (BHS), of which the Princess is vice-patron, added: "On behalf of all of us here, I would also like to pass on our sincere thoughts to His Majesty the King at this time, and to your family." Anne, 73, toured the charity, which gives riding opportunities to children and adults with disabilities and is celebrating its 35th anniversary.