Excitement washed over a 10-year-old from Dumbarton who had the honour of meeting The Princess Royal in Glasgow recently.

Joe McGroarty gifted Her Royal Highness Princess Anne a framed picture of the iconic Clyde steamer TS Queen Mary dating from 1956 as a memento of her visit.

The Princess Royal visited the city in her role as the ship's Royal Patron.

The Knoxland Primary School pupil, who was accompanied to the event at the Hilton Hotel by his parents, said: “I feel very privileged to have been able to present Princess Anne with the picture of TS Queen Mary. I was a little nervous but she was very friendly.”

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter: Joe McGroarty, a Knoxland Primary School pupil

Princess Anne was in the city to meet with restoration supporters of the TS Queen Mary, two years after announcing the vessel will once again sail.

The iconic Clyde steamer, currently undergoing a multi-million-pound restoration in Govan, has marked a significant milestone with its fund currently exceeding £5 million, halfway to the estimated cost of the complete restoration.

During her visit, The Princess Royal learnt of the restoration progress and rounded off the ship’s year-long 90th anniversary celebrations at the city’s Hilton Hotel.

The work has gathered pace, a landmark development for the iconic steamer which was named after The Princess Royal's great grandmother, Queen Mary.

With its rich history as Britain's finest pleasure steamer, the ship once entertained royalty like King George V, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the then Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and Lord Mountbatten of Burma.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter: The Princess Royal visited the city in her role as the ship's Royal Patron

No other Clyde steamer carried anywhere near the number of royalty that it did.

The decision to allow the vessel to sail again will provide a boost to Scotland’s tourism and Clyde coast resorts such as Rothesay and Dunoon, which were familiar destinations in the ship’s heyday.

Friends of TS Queen Mary, the charity tasked with the restoration, said it has been overwhelmed by corporate and individual donations who are keen to see the ship restored to its former glory.

Iain Sim, chairman of the Friends of TS Queen Mary, said: “We are delighted to welcome back to Glasgow our Royal Patron HRH The Princess Royal.

"Our ongoing endeavour to ensure TS Queen Mary sails again on the Clyde continues to gather pace with some significant progress in the last year.

“We feel very privileged to have HRH The Princess Royal as our Royal Patron – celebrating, as it does the important link with the Royal Family which the ship is renowned for.”

Originally built in 1933 in Dumbarton, the TS Queen Mary has carried various figures, such as US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Viscount Montgomery of Alamein and music hall legend Sir Harry Lauder.

At the height of her success, TS Queen Mary carried 13,000 passengers each week.

She was successfully towed back to the Clyde from London in a marathon voyage along the coast of the UK in 2015.

Her last time cruising was in September 1977 and she has continued to maintain her reputation as the largest and most luxurious steamer of her time.