‘Princess Anne never made me feel inferior’: Historian BRIAN HOEY, who worked with the all-action royal when writing her biography in the 1990s, pays tribute as she turns 74

‘At least you always know where you are with her.’ Those were first words I heard describing Princess Anne, from someone who had worked for her for years.

It was one of the police bodyguards based at Gatcombe Park, her home in Gloucestershire.

I was on my way to meet her about a biography of her I was going to write and, for the first time, she had agreed to cooperate with an author.

Arriving at Gatcombe by road, one drives along a quiet country road and suddenly there is a secluded police post, complete with barrier to prevent any unwelcome visitors.

After passing over my identity documents and listening to a phone call to the house, I was allowed to proceed – but only if accompanied by the police officer who gave me those first words.

He elaborated, saying with some of the Royals you never knew. They changed from day to day. But, Anne, who turns 74 today, was always the same.

Princess Anne stands next to diver Tom Daley, rower Helen Glover and other members of Team GB at the British Embassy in Paris on July 24. Anne is on a 12-day trip to France for the Olympics

Princess Anne seen in dressage gear at Badminton in Gloucestershire, 1974

I was met by a private secretary who advised me of the correct way to conduct myself as I was presented (one is never introduced to royalty). 

Then give short neck bow and only extend your hand if he or she offers theirs first. With the Princess it was to be Your Royal Highness at first and when I left.

For the rest of the time it was Ma’am, to rhyme with jam not harm. Never sit down unless asked. It all sounds a bit intimidating but actually it works.

Princess Anne was a delight to work with. She answered every and any question without any hesitation and when I had finished the final version of the script, she made a few factual corrections, but that was all.

She was relaxed to be with and never once did she make me feel inferior.

She has a number of ‘firsts’ to her credit. The first Royal to win an international trophy when she triumphed in the European Equestrian Championships.

The first to be elected BBC Sports Personality of the Year. She was of course also the first British royal to compete at the Olympics – at the 1976 Montreal Games.

And there were a couple of ‘firsts’ in her personal life as well.

Historian Brian Hoey (centre) seen walking behind Princess Anne during her visit to Cardiff Prison, 1998

One of Anne’s police bodyguards at her Gatcombe Park estate (above) told biographer BRIAN HOEY: ‘At least you always know where you are with her’

Duty calls: Princess Anne seen walking in front of Prince Harry and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence during the procession for the lying-in-state of her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, September, 2022

Anne and her father Prince Philip enjoyed a long and exclusive mutual admiration society and neither would ever listen to a negative word about the other. Above: The pair watch the Trooping the Colour ceremony on the Buckingham Palace balcony, June 1963

Princess Anne seen with her father Prince Philip on top of a Land Rover, 1980

Princess Anne with her father Prince Philip at Cowes on the Isle of Wight, 1970

Princess Anne sitting with her father Prince Philip as they watch the dressage at the London 2012 Olympics

When she married her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey in 1973, she was the first child of a monarch to be wed in a live televised ceremony.

And when she was later asked how difficult it had been having to go and ask The Queen’s permission to marry (as she was required to under the Royal Marriages Act) she gave a typical ‘Anne’ reply: ‘Not half as hard as having to ask permission to get divorced.’ Which, of course, she had to nineteen years later.

In 1992, wedding number two was a much simpler affair, being held in the tiny parish church at Crathie alongside Balmoral Castle.

And where 50,000 people had lined the streets of London to watch Anne and Mark’s festivities, fewer than 200 braved the wind and rain in Scotland, When she married Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence (he was then a less prestigious Commander, and not yet a knight of the realm).

It was by far the most informal Royal wedding ever. It was a strictly family business with no celebrities from the sporting world or show business invited.

Anne was the first royal to be elected BBC Sports Personality of the Year, in December 1971

Queen Elizabeth II presents the Raleigh trophy to her daughter Princess Anne, winner of the individual European three-day event at Burghley, Lincolnshire, September 6, 1971

Princess Anne meets a mother and daughter during a visit to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Banjul, Gambia, 1984

Princess Anne seen during a visit to Gambia in 1984

When she married her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey in 1973, she was the first child of a monarch to be wed in a live televised ceremony

Princess Anne with her second husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, on their wedding day in 1992. The couple married at the Crathie Church near Balmoral in an understated ceremony

Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence lead her children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips in viewing the flowers left by mourners outside Balmoral following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

It was even suggested that the Princess had broken the law in Scotland by not giving the requisite two weeks’ notice of her intention to marry. However, she was not prosecuted.

She had chosen to marry in Scotland because the Church of England at that time refused to marry a divorced person and the restrictions did not apply under Scottish church law.

The difference between Anne and almost any other lady in the Royal Family was that she never once pretends. She refuses to pretend, even if by doing so she might be more highly thought of. In fact, the opinion of anyone else, apart from one or two members of her family, is a matter of complete indifference to her.

Another way in which she differs from her siblings is that she is prepared to laugh at herself – when the occasion demands – but heaven help those who dare to laugh at her and not with her.

She believes implicitly in the Monarchy and all it’s surrounding dignity and protocols. She invariably addressed her late mother as ‘Your Majesty’ as she does with Charles, her brother, The King. And he warrants a curtesy from her.

She sees no difficulty in these little examples of perfect manners with her family.

And in spite of the scandal surrounding the alleged sexual behaviour of her brother, Andrew, the Duke of York, and also when her nephew Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, decided not to continue as working royals but to go and live in the United States, nobody ever heard a word of criticism from Anne.

If anyone dares to utter a word of criticism about Prince Philip in particular, they feel the immediate force of Anne’s wrath.

In other words, the curtain of Royal disapproval descends with chilling finality.

She and her father enjoyed a long and exclusive mutual admiration society and neither would ever listen to a negative word about the other. 

She is not interested in personal popularity and, like the late Duke of Edinburgh, she believes it is not necessary to be liked to be respected or admired, or to become emotional to feel compassion.

And she insists that the preparation for all her visits, whether at home or abroad, must be meticulous – and she checks every one.

Brian Hoey is the author of Anne: The Private Princess Revealed

I remember talking to her on her return from one of the most gruelling overseas tours. The conversation turned to the subject of her feelings when she witnessed sights too distressing for most people. She said ‘If I felt (or showed) emotion or tears all the time, I would go nuts.’

Even in her seventies, she remains at the top of the royal league table in the number of public duties she carries out every year.

Her recent horse-related injury at Gatcombe Park did of course put her in hospital for several days. 

But less than three weeks later, she was back to work, albeit with a fading bruise on the side of her head and face.

She admitted that she could not remember ‘a single thing’ about the incident. 

Anne recently returned from a packed 12-day trip to France for the Olympics.

As she previously said, ‘I don’t like sitting around. I want to be doing something most of the time.’ Nobody can complain that she doesn’t pull her weight.

Brian Hoey is the author of Anne: The Private Princess Revealed.