HER Royal Highness the Princess Royal paid a successful visit to Giggleswick School yesterday (Thursday) after being forced to cancel an engagement last year.

The princess was due to visit the school last October to commemorate 100 years of the school chapel, but her helicopter was unable to land because of low cloud.

However, this week there were no such problems and Her Royal Highness unveiled a plaque to commemorate the completion and opening of the Sharpe Library.

The princess was greeted by vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Brian Braithwaite-Exley and his wife Barbara, and the headmaster Geoffrey Boult and his wife, Katie.

She attended a service in the chapel with pupils from Mill House, the pre-preparatory department, and Catteral Hall, Giggleswick' s preparatory school.

She was then escorted to the library by the heads of Catteral Hall, pupils Isabel Marshall and Spencer Moran.

The princess toured the library, which includes an IT suite with three IT classrooms, an Internet caf with six computers, seminar rooms, a careers library, interview rooms and the library itself, which is fully computerised.

She was accompanied by library director Fiona MacKenzie and IT systems manager Phil Andrew.

Before leaving, the princess met with pupils and staff, unveiled the plaque, and was presented with a painting of the chapel and a posy by the heads of the senior school Jack Hird and Natasha MacBean.