Princess Anne will be visiting Kent Blaxill in Colchester on 20 March, it has been confirmed in the Royal Diary.

Her visit to the town will also include a preview of the £4.3m refurbishment to Colchester Castle, where she will unveil a plaque ahead of the official opening on 2 May.

“We are very excited to hear that Princess Anne is coming to visit Kent Blaxill in recognition of our 175 years of trading in Colchester,” said Simon Blaxill, managing director of Kent Blaxill. “It seems particularly appropriate that she will also be visiting the castle, in the shadow of which Kent Blaxill was founded in 1838.”

The company’s last meeting with royalty was in 1938 when Alderman Blaxill, then Colchester mayor and Kent Blaxill chairman, greeted Queen Mary on a visit to the town.