If 2021 ended with an enforced quietness, then it was in sharp contrast to the year just gone for the Princess Royal. Despite the challenges of the twelve months past, Princess Anne remained as busy as ever and, perhaps, even more important to her royal family.
For it is Anne who has found space in her already packed diary for many of the engagements that might otherwise have fallen to The Queen who was resting on medical advice. The autumn and early winter saw the Princess Royal oversee a string of investitures at Windsor Castle, with reports suggesting she wanted to ensure as many people as possible got royal recognition for the hard work that had seen them honoured in the first place.
This intrinsic understanding of the role of royalty in the 21st century is seen in the vast and wide ranging string of engagements that have marked the Princess Royal’s year, yet again. Her 2021 began with day after day of video calls as lockdown made face to face duties impossible. The Oxford Farming conference, the Special Forces Club and the Pony Club were all visited virtually by the Princess Royal as she took on dozens of engagements in January.
February followed a similar pattern. The Princess Royal held virtual meetings and engagements with a wide range of her patronages including Scottish Rugby Union, Save the Children UK and the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. There were also audiences with her military links including one with the Royal King’s Hussars.
Her involvement with the Armed Forces would be a central theme through Princess Anne’s year and as lockdown eased, there was growing speculation that she would be made Captain General of the Royal Marines, the first time a woman would hold the role. The Princess Royal ignored reports and just got on with the job in hand. As soon as restrictions eased, she hit the ground for face to face engagements. Visits to Cambridgeshire and Gloucestershire as March came to an end included time with organisations working to support others during the ongoing pandemic.
By then, the Princess Royal was also trying to support her parents as the health of her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, took a turn for the worse. His death, on April 9th 2021, led to a very personal statement in which she confessed ‘’ My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.”
She took her place alongside Prince Charles to lead the procession behind Prince Philip’s coffin as it made its final journey to St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The easing of restrictions across the UK saw the Princess Royal back to her usual busy pace of public engagements. Anne’s royal remit is far reaching with her early summer agenda including work with World Horse Welfare, Riding for the Disabled and the Royal Yachting Association. And, again, that military focus as she represented the Royal Family on ANZAC Day in London.
The Princess Royal is involved with over 300 charities and military organisations and this year, as every year, she has worked to show her support for as many of them as possible. Her most high profile patronages, such as Save the Children and Riding for the Disabled, remain vitally important to her. But among the groups she visited over the summer were some of her lesser known patronages including the Women’s Royal Naval Service Benevolent Trust and Aerospace Bristol.
As restrictions eased further, The Princess Royal’s diary expanded even more. She spent several days at sea with HMS Albion off the west coast of Scotland in September before making an official visit to France. Autumn also brought a moving visit to the Royal Academy of Engineering where Anne is a Royal Fellow. There, she oversaw the establishment of the Prince Philip Fund, established in his memory. She signed the Fellows’ Book in front of a huge portrait of her father, who had helped set up the Academy over forty years earlier.
But perhaps the most symbolic moment of Anne’s year came in November 2021 when she accompanied her family to the Royal Albert Hall for the annual Festival of Remembrance. The Queen had decided, with regret, not to attend for health reasons and so the clan was led by the Prince of Wales. Seeing him in the main seat in the Royal Box with the House of Windsor around him was a brief glimpse of the court of a king to come. And right behind him, eyes filled with unmistakable pride, was the sister who has shared his extraordinary journey, every step of the way.
Princess Anne’s royal year ended quietly. In late December 2021, it was confirmed that her husband. Sir Timothy Laurence, had tested positive for coronavirus and the couple isolated at their home in Gloucestershire. It meant that Anne was unable to travel to Windsor to spend Christmas with her mother – she had planned to be at The Queen’s side during the first festive break since the death of Prince Philip.
It was a low key finale to a time that had brought great sadness as well as great joy – 2021 saw Princess Anne become a grandmother for the fifth time when her daughter, Zara Tindall, welcomed a son, Lucas. There was little surprise when the Princess Royal was confirmed as the hardest working member of the House of Windsor as the year ended. The past twelve months have been challenging but the Princess Royal’s devotion to her royal duty and her ambition to emulate her father with ‘’a life well lived and service freely given’’ has remained undimmed.
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