Princess Anne speaks out on sending children to boarding school - decades after she went

Princess Anne hailed the benefits of a boarding school education yesterday, as she sought to reassure naval families who often enrol their children into them. The King's sister, 75, who boarded at Benenden School in Kent for five years as a teenager, said the experience brings "stability" and makes children's lives easier.

During a visit to the Naval Children's Charity (NCC), for which she became patron in March, she said: "One of the charities I'm doing puts children into boarding schools, and the thing they always say is that it gives them stability." The Princess Royal added: " I think that's true for a lot of people, that level of stability, because otherwise it leaves gaps in your life which are difficult to manage."

She made the comments while speaking to Clarice McEwan, 16, and her mother, Roseanne McEwan, who is married to a submarine Captain in the Navy.

The family has been posted in England and around Europe and has also lived in the United States for his naval service.

Speaking to Anne, Roseanne said they sent Clarice to board in Cheltenham while the rest of the family lived in America, adding that "a lot of military children" are boarders.

Clarice, who is part of the NCC's Youth Coalition, explained: "We didn't know where we were moving next and I thought I might as well get a head start on my GCSEs just in case we moved back to the UK."

She told the Princess, who was a boarder from 1963 to 1968, that she "really loves boarding" and can no longer imagine being in a day school. Anne remarked that she boarded "a long time ago now".

Her three brothers, Charles, Andrew and Edward, all boarded at Gordonstoun School, on the north coast of Scotland. Anne's two children, Peter and Zara, also attended the school as it became co-educational from 1972.

The Princess's visit was her first as patron of the charity, which the late Queen Elizabeth II was patron of for 70 years beforehand, and marked the organisation's bicentenary.

Anne has been married to a retired Royal Navy Officer, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, for 33 years.

Making an impromptu speech to NCC staff, volunteers and naval families gathered in Portsmouth on Wednesday, Anne said: "This is about families of people who serve and that is a difficult relationship sometimes, but it needs to be remembered and is at the forefront of what you do."

She added: "When you're as scattered as the Naval families are, that can be a real challenge in a way that nobody else quite has...thank you for maintaining that link."

The NCC supports young people from naval families up to the age of 25 through wellbeing support, grants in times of crisis, and development opportunities. The hands-on strategy is tailored to recognise the unique situations that naval families can face.