In pictures: Princess Anne visits Beehive bunker amid Cyclone Gabrielle response

Princess Anne, one of the most senior members of the Royal Family, has visited the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) below the Beehive.

The NCMC has been operating since the Auckland Anniversary floods and is the central coordination centre for the response to Cyclone Gabrielle.

The Princess Royal’s initial plan to attend the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals (RNZSIG) Centenary event at Linton Camp near Palmerston North on Wednesday morning was called off in the wake of the destructive weather.

Instead, she visited the NCMC to meet with staff overseeing the response.

She will attend a Service of Remembrance at Pukeahu War Memorial in Wellington on Thursday afternoon, where she is expected to lay a wreath and pay her respects.

On Thursday, she will visit the Riding for the Disabled Association, for which she is a patron for, in Porirua. On Friday, Princess Anne will be in Christchurch, including for a visit to the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand. 

Princess Anne is the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. She is the sister to King Charles. 

She is accompanied in New Zealand by her husband, the retired Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins welcomed her visit to New Zealand when it was announced earlier this month.

“Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to attend its 100th Anniversary celebrations at Linton Military Camp in Palmerston North,” Hipkins said.

“It’s terrific that Her Royal Highness will be able to connect with past and present members of the Corps and acknowledge the importance of signallers within New Zealand Defence Force operations over the last 100 years.”