A ROYAL visitor flew into a Hampshire airport to mark its help marks its centenary.

The Princess Royal landed at Solent Airport at Daedalus in Lee-on-the-Solent on yesterday for an official visit ahead of the airfield’s 100th birthday celebrations in September.

Her Royal Highness arrived by Coastguard helicopter.

She visited the Maritime Coastguard Agency’s search and rescue facility, Fareham College's engineering centre CEMAST and the borough council's Innovation Centre.

Her Royal Highness also presented the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Volunteer of the Year award to Mike Saunders.

Mr Saunders has spent 46 years in the Coastguard and has responded to more than 3,000 incident.

The Princess then unveiled a plaque to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the airfield, formerly HMS Daedalus.

Four-year-old Lydia Francis presented the princess with a cake.

The Princess congratulated everyone’s involvement and how Daedalus has been transformed into a thriving hub for aerospace and reflected on the importance of its aeronautical history.

Councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: "Princess Anne’s visit enormously raises the profile of Solent Airport at Daedalus and indeed that of the Solent Enterprise Zone and the work of Fareham Borough Council’s investment in putting Daedalus firmly on the map for aviation, marine and aerospace advanced engineering jobs."

The centenary event which the council is spending £16,000 to marks 100 years of flying at the airfield which opened in 1917 during the First World War while the council acquired it in 2015.

During the Second World War, the site was home to a number of first-line squadrons and it played an enormous part in D-Day operations on the south coast, deploying 435 units, the largest number by far than at any other UK airfield on D-Day.

Councillor Trevor Cartwright, chairman of the 100th Anniversary Group, said: “To get a royal presence is a big boost for Daedalus, since the council have purchased the site in 2015, it has a gone from a derelict site to a thriving airfield, it was a fantastic event.”

Visitors and air enthusiasts will be able to see a static aircraft display showcasing some of Daedalus’ classic aircraft in partnership with local flying associations at a family event on September 16.

Princess Anne was last in the borough in 2012 when she visited West Street for a special Freedom March by HMS Collingwood through the town centre.