Crowds welcomed the Princess Royal as she arrived in Glasgow to meet representatives of organisations which the Queen was patron of.

Princess Anne, accompanied by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, visited the City Chambers on Thursday afternoon.

Arriving to applause and the sound of bagpipes, Anne, the Queen’s only daughter, was met by Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren – in her capacity as Lord Lieutenant – before taking time to view flowers left by the public in tribute to her late mother.

She and Sir Tim then made their way over to greet the waiting crowd, and Anne appeared to be in good spirits as she stopped to talk to well-wishers.

Among the crowd was four-year-old Holly McBride, who had been waiting with her mother.

She handed Anne a bunch of pink daisies before shying away.

Anne was then led inside the City Chambers, where she met leader of Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken, director of finance Martin Booth, Lord Dean May Storrie, and deacon convener Bruce Reidford.

She then spent some time at a reception with representatives from various organisations of which the Queen served as patron, including Friends of Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Caledonian University, Royal British Legion of Scotland, YMCA, Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Lambhill Stables and the RSNO.

Rachel Ducker, director of finance at Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, said there was a “positive atmosphere” during the visit, despite there being a sombre reasoning behind it.

Ms Ducker told the PA news agency: “The Queen was the patron of Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, and she sort of championed our volunteering.

“We’ve got over 8,000 volunteers across Scotland, and she was a real champion of that.

“It was lovely to bring three volunteers with us today to speak to Princess Anne about their involvement in volunteering, and for her to see the impact that her mother’s patronage had on the charity.”

Hilary Harris, acting chair of Lambhill Stables, a community organisation in the north of Glasgow, praised the “total engagement” Anne gave each representative during the visit.

“She came and sat at the table, she had a place set for her, and she came and sat with us. There was eight volunteers from our organisation,” Ms Harris told PA.

“She spoke individually to everyone, asked them all what they did, and gave them plenty opportunity to speak to her.

“Total engagement, total eye contact, everything, and she knew everything about the organisation, so she led the conversation.

“She knew we had gardens, she knew about the cafe, she knew what we did, she knew when it was renovated.

“Very impressive.”

The royal couple then then visited the Satinwood Suite within the chambers, where they met members of the public who were signing a book of condolence in memory of the Queen.