Princess Anne visited a south Bucks animal charity this week in celebration of its merger with another charity.

The Princess Royal, royal patron of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, attended a board meeting at the charity’s headquarters in Saunderton yseterday (Tuesday), where its chairman announced its forthcoming merger with Hearing Link, another hearing loss charity of which the princess is also a patron.

Hearing Dogs confirmed she will continue as royal patron of the merged charities.

Charity bosses believe the merger will mean that people with hearing loss will have wider access to advice and support about their hearing, and the ways in which they could benefit from a broader range of services available as a result.

Michele Jennings, Hearing Dogs CEO, said: “The merger of our two organisations has secured the future of Hearing Link, which has found it increasingly difficult to maintain financial sustainability.

“The wealth of knowledge and expertise within Hearing Link will now be made available to even more people through the development opportunities provided by the combination of our more than 100 years of experience in helping deaf people.”

Hearing Link provides a range of services to help people adjust to the practical and emotional challenges that hearing loss can bring, including group and one-to-one rehabilitation programmes and community engagement events.

Ms Jennings added: “The merger will provide logical cost benefits by efficiently combining back-office functions, such as finance and administration, to ensure our donated funds are used in pursuing our core purpose as much as possible.

“Hearing Dogs applicants and recipients, and deaf people in general, will all enjoy wider access to the extremely well-developed suite of services Hearing Link offers.

“We will maintain the identities of both charities, as both are well-loved and well-recognised organisations.

“And both charities benefit enormously from the kindness and generosity of their volunteers, who collectively number almost 2,500.

“We will continue to grow this important aspect of our organisations, as we simply couldn’t do what we do without the altruism of our volunteers.”