Princess Royal goes 'shopping'

WEDMORE will welcome a member of royalty today. Princess Anne is visiting the Mary Davis Shop, in Church Street, in her official capacity as President of UK Fashion Exports, of which Mary Davis Knitwear is a member. Managing director Fiona Jackson said: "UK Fashion Exports wrote to us and suggested we apply for a royal visit, as we are the sort of business Princess Anne usually likes to visit. "Once we applied we expected to have to wait a year or two, but after just a few months we had a phone call to ask if February 15 would be okay. We still cannot believe how quickly it has all happened."When the Princess Royal visits today, she will be given a Mary Davis jacket as a gift and a cheque for the Princess Anne Trust.Fiona said: "We thought seeing as she was coming all this way, it would be nice to give her a present. We picked out a design we think she'll like, so hopefully she will be photographed wearing it in the future."Princess Anne will arrive at the village playing fields by helicopter at 3.40pm. She will then be driven to the Mary Davis shop. She will be inside the shop until 4.30pm, during which time she will have a chance to look around, talk to the staff about their work, and receive her jacket. During her visit to Somerset, The Princess Royal will also visit the MacDonald Bath Spa Hotel in Bath, the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, and the Crewkerne Aqua Centre. Fiona added: "I think she chose us because we are a British company that exports all over the world, rather than making our products abroad and importing them in. Our hand knit range is made by workers in England and hand-finished in Somerset. We are an up-market company, which is why we chose Wedmore as our base. Wedmore is the jewel in the Somerset Crown." * Pictured: Mary Davis, Fiona Jackson and shop assistants with the jacket they are giving to Princess Anne.