The visit by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal will take place on Wednesday, September 20 and is expected to involve a tour of the Grade II-listed buildings of Prince Albert Row in Harrogate, which boasts some of the town’s most respected shops and businesses.

Among the names set to welcome Princess Anne are Helen James Flowers, Woods of Harrogate, Stephen Neall Interiors, Jespers Bar & Kitchen, Bang & Olufsen and Rigby & Peller.

There is a long history of royal visits to Harrogate, from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2016 – for the 50th anniversary year of Harrogate International Festival in 2016 – and HRH The Duke of Gloucester earlier this year at the opening day of the Great Yorkshire Show.

Princess Anne during a previous visit to Harrogate inspects the troops at the Passing Out parade at the Army Foundation College Harrogate.

Royal visits to shops are rarer and visits to an entire shopping parade are rarer still – but Prince Albert Row is no ordinary shopping street.

Instead the prestigious address prides itself on the highest standards, said William Woods of Woods Fine Linens.

“Our success is based on being different and not being afraid of quality,” he said. “My mantra is ‘whatever we do is never good enough’. Complacency is extremely dangerous.”

In preparation for the royal visit, Harrogate BID, Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce and a number of local businesses have come together to make sure Prince Albert Row looks its best.

Princess Anne: Princess Royal set to visit historic shopping row in Yorkshire later this month