Princess Anne will visit the Constantine branch of Save the Children UK charity on Thursday (11 January) to meet local volunteers, hear about their work and present a Long Service Award to one of its stalwart members.

The Princess Royal is patron of the charity. The branch which has been running for almost 40 years, now has more than 70 supporters from the villages of Constantine, Mawnan Smith and Treverva with 27 volunteers working shifts in the shop in Fore Street, Constantine. And in the past five years alone, they have raised over £350,000 from shop sales and a host of other fundraising activities for the charity which works in the UK and 120 other countries supporting some 60 million children around the world.

The Princess will visit the shop and have tea with volunteers.

Dr Paula Roberts, branch chair will tell the Princess how the branch's success started from a garage in Constantine and a seasonal lean-to porch in Port Navas. "The two shops were dealt a huge blow in 2012 when we lost both premises. Both were up for redevelopment and the future looked insecure. But then we had a stroke of luck when the former butcher’s shop in Constantine became vacant and the owner offered it to us for a small rent. We jumped at the chance and we haven’t looked back since."

The shop has since been managed by Mrs Sally Coot – a volunteer since 1992 who was herself awarded a British Empire Medal in 2016. Sally said: ‘I’m very excited about the visit by the Princess Royal – it recognises the hard work of all the volunteers and those who support the shop which raises around £13,000 each year.’

The princess will be greeted by local schoolchildren and will present a Long Service Award to Mrs Coot and unveil a plaque that will be displayed outside the shop.

The branch raises around £20,000 each year from the shop and other events - raffles, bridge drives, coffee mornings, Christmas Fairs, and quizzes.

Paula Roberts says: ‘I’m so proud that our branch, covering these small Cornish villages, is one of the leading fundraisers in the South West – we have such a wonderful team of volunteers and amazingly generous local communities.’