Princess Anne rides Staten Island Ferry in surprise New York visit

Member of British royal family praises borough's lighthouse museum

The UK's Princess Anne rides the Staten Island Ferry. AP

Princess Anne took a ride on the Staten Island Ferry during a surprise visit to New York.

The Princess Royal, sister of King Charles III, was ushered to the ferry's pilothouse on Tuesday as the boat sailed towards the southern tip of Manhattan, which gave her sweeping views of the city's famed skyline.

The short ferry ride ended with a water display right before the boat docked, local media outlet SILive reported.

Her visit to Staten Island came nearly 65 years to the day after her late parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, toured New York.

Princess Anne's ferry trip came after she toured Staten Island's National Lighthouse Museum. While there, she was awarded the title of honorary chairwoman for the National Lighthouse Museum’s Campaign for Illuminating Future Generations.

The campaign, launched in January, raises funds to expand and preserve the museum, SILive reported.

After the ferry trip, the princess attended a luncheon in Manhattan and praised the museum in a speech.

“The lighthouse still has a really important part to play,” she said. “The story that goes with lighthouses and how we got here is just as important, and [the] museum has made an astonishing impact in telling that story.”

Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth, who died last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report