A County Durham farmer has expressed his delight at meeting Princess Anne at The Great Yorkshire Show - describing the Royal as a “breath of fresh air”.
The Princess Royal was the guest of honour on the first day of the event at Harrogate Showground on Tuesday (July 12) - where she was spotted speaking to and sharing a joke with numerous stallholders, farmers, and members of the public.
One person that was lucky enough to meet the Royal family member on Tuesday was Dennis Craig, president of the Dairy Shorthorn Society, who comes from Westgate in Weardale.
Read more: Great Yorkshire Show LIVE: First day of iconic event begins - updates
Mr Craig, who has been farming since leaving school at 15, got the honour of hosting Princess Anne through his role with the Dairy Shorthorn Society.
After meeting Princess Anne at the cattle judging ring, where she stopped to talk to more than a dozen shorthorn cattle, Mr Craig said that the high-profile royal “made everyone feel at ease” and was “down to earth”.
This included asking each person where they were from and having a conversation about each place, as well as sharing a joke about farming with several of those that were showing their cattle.
Mr Craig’s granddaughter also presented the Royal with some flowers after the farming event – something that “struck a chord” with Princess Anne, who is the patron of the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society.
Mr Craig told The Northern Echo: “I think everyone in the cattle arena was overawed by the occasion – what an honour to meet Princess Anne.
“It’s just brilliant – when I was a lad and used to come to the show with my parents, I always dreamt of staging something like this.
“As a person, she’s marvellous, she makes everything normal and not make it feel like you’re meeting a royal at all.”
Despite meeting Princess Anne on Tuesday, it was also a big moment for Mr Craig – getting the honour to lead the Dairy Shorthorn Society in what is the 200th anniversary of the shorthorn cattle being registered in Coates’ herd book.
To mark the occasion, 200 shorthorns were brought to the first day of The Great Yorkshire Show – which the County Durham farmer called “a special moment”.
Mr Craig, who describes himself as a “wannabe dairy farmer” stopped selling milk at his Weardale farm 15 years ago, and favours selling big numbers of cows each year.
However, he now looks forward to the rest of his presidency of the Dairy Shorthorn Society, which was impacted through covid in 2021.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel