Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, has a reputation as the busiest of all royals and it’s not hard to see why. Her profile perhaps matches that of The King and Queen themselves. The Princess has helped pull the family together since day one and remains an integral part of the House of Windsor.
Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born on 15 August 1950 at Clarence House, the second child and only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Today, she marks her 74th birthday.
Just eighteen months after her birth, Anne’s mother became Queen and, in 1953, the young princess stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as Elizabeth II was greeted by huge crowds for her Coroantion.
Anne would attend Benenden School before taking on royal duties in her adulthood. Her first public engagement was in 1969 at the age of 19 when she opened an educational and training centre in Shropshire.
Over time, she would become a respected equestrian having won several medals at the European Eventing Championships, taking one gold medal in 1971 and two silver medals in 1975. A year later in 1976, she would become the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Olympic Games in Montreal. While she did not win a medal, she would go on to become a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1988.
In 1973, Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at London’s Westminster Abbey. The two separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992. Together, they have two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall. Zara Tindall is an Olympic-winning equestrian who had the honour of having her silver medal presented by her mum in the 2012 London Games.
Princess Anne married a second time, within months of her divorce, to Commander (later Vice Admiral) Sir Timothy Laurence. She met her second husband when he served as her mother’s equerry between 1986 and 1989. Currently, Anne has five grandchildren.
When she’s not busy with her family, Anne is dedicated to royal engagements. She is patron or president of more than 300 organisations including Riders for Health, the Carers Trust, and WISE. Her work tends to focus on sciences, sports, people with disabilities, and health in developing countries. For over 50 years, she has been associated with Save the Children and visited a number of its projects.
In 2023, The Telegraph reported Anne was the ‘hardest-working’ member of the Royal Family for the year. Accounting for the family’s official record of previous engagements, she had 437 engagements. On average, The Telegraph estimates that’s about 12 to 14 engagements during a typical week.
Earlier in the summer, Her Royal Highness had to take a few weeks off after suffering minor head injuries and a concussion in a horse-related incident. With The King and the Princess of Wales stepping back from engagements this year for health issues, it’s very likely Anne could continue to hold her ‘hardest-working’ title.