Princess Anne visited a coastal town in West Sussex today to tour the Shoreham National Coastwatch Station and find out about how the volunteers work to keep people safe at sea.

As patron of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), the Princess Royal, 74, was all smiles as she spent time talking to the duty watchers about their work before moving to the nearby sailing club for a reception, with the royal running around half an hour late for the day’s engagements.

I waited outside in the cold for her arrival and was relieved when she finally arrived and we could head indoors for the reception. It was there that I was able to catch a proper glimpse of the so-called hardest workest royal for the first time, as she met a number of volunteers involved with the NCI and local RNLI.

As I watched the Princess Royal make her way around the room, I was inspired by how invested she was in each and every one of the people she spoke to.

Despite meeting around 40 people, Anne conversed with every one of them and didn't reduce the conversation to mere pleasantries. Instead, the senior royal asked thoughtful questions about their work and where they were based, and listened intently to their answers.

While talking, the King’s sister also appeared genuinely interested in each conversation she had, showing as much enthusiasm and interest in the last person she spoke to as the first.

This was not only noticed by me but also by other people in the room, including the charity’s chair Stephen Hand, who told me: “She really does get involved. She was particularly interested in the risks this station faces.”

When later handing out the long-service awards to three volunteers shortly afterwards, I was also pleased that Princess Royal made sure to congratulate each of the men and thank them for the work that they do individually.

Mike Hobbs, one of the recipients of the award presented by Her Royal Highness, said it was a “great honour” to have Anne present the awards today.

While she had many serious conversations throughout the visit, the princess could also not help herself from making classic jokes about the English weather, which at the time of the visit was drizzly, windy and cold.

While my hair was blown around my face and messy as a result of the wind, the princess continued to look immaculate with her tartan outfit, boots and bright red lipstick. She also sported a matching red scarf which she discarded in the car halfway through the visit.

When unveiling the plaque before her departure, the princess addressed the “challenge” of trying to fit in a visit to all the NCI stations around the UK, with her visit to Shoreham marking the 7th station she has visited this year alone.

Mentioning how hard it was to find the time to visit each one, the princess also said there was another challenge at play. She said to the attendees: “As you may also have noticed the weather can be more of a challenge. Anyway it was a pleasure to see you, thank you so much.”

The princess also mentioned the upcoming weather forecast for the weekend, which has seen a weather warning for wind and rain being put in place among London and most of the South East.

She then made a quick departure just minutes before rain started to fall again.