Royal forced to pull out of huge trip as Firm hit with another health blow

Princess Anne is embarking on an official trip to South Africa for two days - and it has emerged that she will be travelling solo due to her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence pulling out of the trip due to an injury

The Royal Family have suffered another health blow - with a much-loved member of the Firm forced to pull out of a huge trip.

It has emerged that Princess Anne, who is travelling to South Africa for a two-day visit, is doing so without her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, who has suffered an injury.

The Princess Royal begins her visit in Cape Town today but is travelling by herself after Sir Tim suffered a suspected torn ligament while working on her Gatcombe estate, it is understood. The former naval officer needs treatment in the UK and is unable to fly with the princess, who will travel on a commercial flight.

Sir Tim is often a discrete support at his wife's side as she travels up and down the country and across the world, which often earns her the title of the hardest-working royal.

Despite his low-profile nature, it seems Sir Tim holds a special place in the Royal Family, with the late Queen seemingly fond of him. Although he didn't receive a royal title upon marriage, he was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order and was also a personal aide-de-camp to the late Queen.

Anne is set to start the trip to South Africa with a project close to her heart – horses supporting the disabled. She will watch riders being put through their paces at the Cape Town-based organisation South African Riding for the Disabled Association. It is similar to the UK charity Riding for the Disabled, which the princess supports as president, with both using horse riding to help children and adults with physical disabilities to improve their wellbeing.

Later at the British High Commission, Anne will view an exhibition by former England cricketer Nick Compton, grandson of renowned batsman Denis Compton. During the two-day visit, the princess will commemorate the sacrifices of black South Africans and other races who played a vital role as military labourers during the First World War.

She is president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and will unveil the organisation's Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial, which honours more than 1,700 South Africans who carried out non-combat jobs and died with no known grave or commemoration.

She will also visit the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, which keeps alive the memory and achievements of the former archbishop of Cape Town who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984 for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa.

Anne, who last visited South Africa in 2012 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, will also visit the Royal Cape Yacht Club and the South African Astronomical Observatory.