Princess Royal born Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise is the second child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She is the only daughter of the Royal Coupleand the 16th in the line of succession to the British throne. Her Royal Highness is less visible when it comes to public appearances but she earned the title of hardest-working royal. Here, we take a trip down memory lane to her life.
Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born on August 15, 1950, at Clarence House in London, during her maternal grandfather, King George VI’s reign. She is the second of four siblings and the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1963, Princess Anne was 13 years old and enrolled at Benendenboarding school. When she earned GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels, she left school in 1968.
The Princess Royal’s first royal duty was in 1969 when she was 18. Her Royal Highness attended the official opening of an educational and training centre in Shropshire.
Like her mother, Princess Anne of Edinburgh is a horse lover but Anne focused on competition and events. At the equestrian’s European Eventing Championships, she won a gold medal in 1971 and two silver medals in 1975.
Princess Anne was the first member of the Royal Family to have competed in the Olympics. She rode her mother's horse, Goodwill, in the equestrian sport at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
In 1973, Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips after meeting on the equestrian circuit. They have two children; Peter Phillips born in 1977 and Zara Phillips Tindall born in 1981.
Princess Royal chose for her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips Tindall, to not have royal titles. She feels that they are better without royal titles.
As Princess Anne participated in several equestrian events, she operated as President of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) from 1987 to 1993. Princess Royal was elected president of the British Olympic Association (BOA) from 1986-1994.
On 5 February 1987, the Princess became the first Royal Family member to participate in a television quiz show. She appeared as a contestant on the British television sports quiz A Question of Sport.
Her Royal Highness joined Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) as its Patron from 1971 to 1985. She became the president of this UK-based charity in 1985, a status she still holds.
Princess Royal is recognised for her involvement with over 200 charities and organisations. For instance, she worked tirelessly for Save the Children serving as president and as a patron since 2017.
As a result of her extensive work for the charity Save the Children, Princess Anne won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. She established The Princess Royal Trust for Carers to support the millions of unpaid carers across the UK in 1991.
On 31 March 2011, Princess Anne was elected Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh. She succeeded her father who resigned from the position in 2010.
Princess Royal was responsible for leading the Royal Society of Arts in 2011, which is in succession to her father. She was also the president of the Royal Society of Arts and City and Guilds of London Institute.
This highest honour Princess Royal was given to a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Since 1987, her Royal Highness has been officially the seventh Princess Royal in the British Monarchy.
Princess Anne is known for her commitment to carrying out official engagements despite the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, she completed 387 official royal engagements so she received the title The Royal Workhorse from the Late Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess Royal is considered a royal fashion icon as she often wears trends from straight-leg jeans to military uniforms. She is rarely spotted without a brooch.
Since her 18th birthday, Princess Royal has been completing more than 20,000 engagements, two more than her brother Charles III. Therefore, she receives the name of the royal family's Trustiest Anchor.
The 72-year-old princess has a full agenda and shows no sign of slowing down. This hardest worker in the royal family will carry out hundreds of royal engagements despite her age.
