THE Princess Royal was in Gwent yesterday for a whistle-stop tour. Princess Anne drove her Range Rover into Llandogo to open the new Millennium Hall. More than 115 youngsters from neighbouring Llandogo and Junior Infants waved flags and cheered as she viewed a new sports pitch and was greeted there by Stuart Williams, 10, of Tintern.

He said: "It was really fun. I shook her hand and told her how we use the pitch for most kinds of sports."

She also unveiled a memorial plaque. Head teacher Jon Murphy said: "It's a tremendous start to the year on our first day back at school."

Inside the new hall, built with a £170,000 grant to replace the original building, the Princess greeted local councillors, representatives of local groups and community leaders.

Then it was on to Chepstow to see the the £1.4m flood alleviation scheme. The Princess met council leaders and representatives from the environment agency in a marquee on parkland now protected from flooding.

Monmouthshire council leader David Waring said: "She has certainly done her homework and knew Monmouthshire had flooding problems." The scheme, a response to the flooding that could threaten Chepstow four to five times a year, was put together by Monmouth-shire council, the Environment Agency and the Assembly.

The Princess saw a display showing pictures of flooded riverbank pubs and waterlogged homes and walked along the banks, watched by around 20 locals.

Her final stop was Caldicot Leisure Centre, where schoolchildren from Green Lane Junior, St Mary's Junior and the nearby comprehensive school braved the cold to watch her reopen the refurbished leisure complex, site of a new skate park.

Shane Robertson, seven, of Caldicot, gave the Princess a bunch of flowers. He said: "She asked me if I used the new skate park, but I told her no because I'm too young, and she said she liked the flowers."

PICTURED: Four-year-old Daisy Giradet, of Llandogo, presents flowers to the Princess.