ICE ship HMS Endurance hosted Princess Anne – the first British royal to visit sovereign ‘soil’ in Antarctica in half a century.

The Princess Royal flew to the opposite end of the globe for an eight-day visit to see the work of the Red Plum, British Antarctic Survey and other polar scientists.

She is patron of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust – and one key part of the tour was to visit the sites used by pioneering polar explorers.

One of those, the former British base at Port Lockroy, is the only site in Antarctic which serves as a living museum.

The second strand of the princess’ visit was to champion international co-operation on the ice.

March marks the beginning of ‘International Polar Year’, celebrating research by numerous nations through the decades at both poles.