CHELMSFORD is set for a royal visit after winning city status earlier in the year.
Princess Anne will fly in by helicopter to congratulate the county's only city, it emerged this week.
After Chelmsford's achievement, bestowed by the Queen to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee earlier this year, the Chronicle launched a campaign to persuade Her Majesty to visit her new city.
We sent 700 letters and pictures to Buckingham Palace from the borough's primary schoolchildren and collected a 1,000-strong petition to urge the monarch to make the short trip to Essex.
Sadly, the Queen was too busy to come to Chelmsford so, instead, she sent her only daughter, Princess Anne.
"Clearly the Chronicle plumped for the Queen but Princess Anne does a great deal of work and it will be an honour to welcome her to the new city of Chelmsford," said City Council leader Roy Whitehead.
The horse-loving royal will visit Hylands House on November 29 to attend a formal reception. She will arrive in Chelmsford around lunchtime after making a fleeting visit to Clacton, before travelling on to Brentwood.
