THE Princess Royal joined forces with the stars yesterday to celebrate the work of volunteers at the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Charity in Saunderton.

Princess Anne arrived at the charity’s grounds by helicopter in the evening sunshine, joining its celebrity ambassadors - TV stars John Barrowman, Esther Rantzen, Pam St Clement and Tim Vincent for a very special garden party.

Click here for our picture gallery of the event.

After personally greeting dignitaries, members of staff and hearing dogs in training, Princess Anne was escorted to the Farmhouse garden to enjoyed afternoon tea with the other guests and watched the charity’s puppy socialising volunteers perform a display.

The Princess Royal, along with Chairman of the Trustees, Faith Clark, thanked the volunteers for all their hard work over the years and presented a special award to Marj Pilkington.

Marj is a long standing volunteer who was also one of the charity’s first puppy socialisers, starting back in 1991.