The Princess Royal carried out a visit to a crisp factory in Sheffield on Friday as police activity linked to the investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continued elsewhere.
Princess Anne did not respond when a reporter shouted: “Afternoon, Your Royal Highness, how do you feel about your brother’s arrest?” as she arrived at Yorkshire Crisps in the south of the city.
The King's sister arrived in pouring rain in a blue Range Rover with police outriders and was escorted a short distance into the building by a man holding a clear umbrella.
She left the site around 40 minutes later and again did not respond when asked from across the car park whether she had spoken to her brother since his arrest.
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Around half a dozen members of the public gathered outside in the rain.
A woman and a boy who arrived with flowers were invited inside the factory to meet Anne shortly before she departed, with the royal visitor leaving with a police motorcycle escort.
The engagement came a day after Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and later released under investigation after spending around 11 hours in police custody.
Thames Valley Police have confirmed searches were carried out at properties linked to him, with police activity continuing at Royal Lodge in Windsor today as detectives pursued enquiries.
Princess Anne leaves Yorkshire Crisps factory after 40 minutes as she ignores two Andrew questions
|PA
Anne continued with her diary on Thursday, the day of her brother’s arrest, with a pre-planned visit to HM Prison Leeds in her capacity as Patron of the Butler Trust, a charity connected to the recognition of excellence in the prison and probation sector.
Images from the visit showed the Princess Royal arriving at the men’s prison as part of the engagement that had been arranged in advance, while national attention focused on the arrest and the developing police inquiry.
Friday’s appearance in Sheffield followed that same approach, with Anne pressing ahead with a scheduled public visit despite repeated questions about Mr Mountbatten-Windsor as she arrived and left.
The investigation into Mr Mountbatten-Windsor is being led by Thames Valley Police.
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King Charles's brother was released on Thursday evening after spending 11 hours in police custody on his 66th birthday | REUTERSMr Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied wrongdoing.
The Metropolitan Police also confirmed on Friday that it is assessing information following the latest release of United States court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
The force said it is contacting former and serving officers who worked in a protection capacity with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to consider whether anything they saw or heard may be relevant to ongoing reviews.
Princess Anne visits prison just hours after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested | GETTY / PAIt added that no new criminal allegations have been made to the Met regarding sexual offences said to have occurred within its jurisdiction.
The Princess Royal, widely regarded as one of the monarchy’s hardest-working members, is known for rarely deviating from her planned diary.
Her decision to proceed with both Thursday’s prison visit and Friday’s factory engagement underlined that approach.