The Princess Royal flew into Carlisle via helicopter earlier today to pay a visit to the University of Cumbria.

Students gathered to get a glimpse of their VIP as the princess was given a guided tour of the Fusehill Street campus.

Stiltwalker Chris Marley, on campus as part of the welcome for first-year students, was among those to welcome her during the tour.

Princess Anne spent more than 90 minutes touring the site before unveiling a plaque to officially open its £3.5m STEM facilities.

Her visit forms part of the university's 10th anniversary celebrations and marked the launch of its strategic plan which shapes its aims and ambitions for the next three years.

During her tour Princess Anne met with staff and students including award-winning nurse Zoe Butler and police officer Rob Ewin.

She also enjoyed a performance by Voces UoC, the university's vocal singing group, as the visit came to the end.

Civic dignitaries and scores of invited guests from organisations with close links with the university were among those who packed into the Learning Gateway lecture theatre to share the final part of the visit.

The princess also shared a joke with vice chancellor Professor Julie Mennell, as she took out a pen from her handbag to sign the university's visitors book before leaving to go to the Scottish Borders for more engagements.

The princess, who has a particular interest in women in science and engineering, was keen to see more of the university's investment in STEM subjects and facilities.

The university's provision in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths continues to grow, with labs at Fusehill Street accompanying an ever-growing list of courses being developed.

Funded in part by the Cumbrian Local Enterprise Partnership, the £3.5 million development at Fusehill Street is fully commissioned and is used for zoology, forensic and health courses as well as research work.

The princess praised the university for its work with other partners, including industry, to provide new opportunities such as "real life" research and efforts to develop provision to meet skills gaps identified by employers.

She said: "You show the signs of doing that really well.

"It is a pleasure to join you at an important part of your process."

Professor Mennell said: "She was very impressed, engaged and interested. She was also very relaxed and very knowledgable.

"She was very interested in where we are looking to position ourselves in emerging industrial strategies and that Cumbria does have world class assets like STEM."

Since it was formed in 2007, more than 32,000 students have graduated from the University of Cumbria which operates sites in Carlisle, Ambleside, Lancaster and London where 70 per cent of schools in Tower Hamlets employ at least one Cumbrian graduate.