Princess Royal has date with pandas

THE pandas at Edinburgh Zoo are to receive their first Royal visitors.

The Princess Royal is to view Yang Guang and Tian Tia at their £250,000 enclosure next month.

The visit on 28 February is in the princess’s role as Royal Patron of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland which runs the zoo.

The princess’s father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is Honorary Fellow of The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, had hoped to see them in August.

But instead the Duke visited the empty panda enclosure and met staff involved in the project as the pandas had not yet arrived.

The pandas will stay for ten years and it is hoped they will eventually produce cubs.

The first 600 pre-booked visitors started viewing the giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo before Christmas.