Princess Anne will officially open the new Dairy Crest Innovation Centre at Harper Adams University in Shropshire next month.

The Princess Royal is also the university’s chancellor. She will visit the Centre on 25th April, along with Dairy Crest chair Stephen Alexander and chief executive Mark Allen, to meet students and staff involved in the project, including students who will be working for Dairy Crest during their placement year in the industry.

Before leaving, she will unveil a plaque to commemorate her visit.

Mr Allen said, “I am delighted we will be welcoming Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, to open our new Innovation Centre. We are particularly proud that the building, where our Research and Development and Technical teams are based, is built on the campus of Harper Adams University. The University, of which Her Royal Highness is Chancellor, is well known and respected for its leading role in food, farming and science education.

“Her Royal Highness will hear about the truly unique partnership which Dairy Crest has entered into with Harper Adams. This partnership is built on regular interaction between our staff and Harper Adams staff and students, giving us a link into leading research within the agriculture and food sectors. Dairy Crest will further support the University curriculum by providing student placements, staff secondments and guest speakers.”

Harper Adams Vice Chancellor Dr David Llewellyn added, “Our collaboration with Dairy Crest is already proving beneficial to the Company and the University, so it is particularly pleasing that our Chancellor will be able to see some of our joint activities and hear about our plans for the future.  We look forward to welcoming Her Royal Highness back to Shropshire in April.”