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Today she is known as one of the the hardest-working and – according to one recent poll – the most popular member of the Royal Family.
As the Princess Royal, she plays a key role supporting the monarchy alongside her brother the King.
Princess Anne’s no-nonsense approach to the job, and to life, seems to be universally admired.
It’s easy to forget that she was once seen as something of a royal wild child – who embarrassed her parents with blue language and speeding fines!
Princess Anne has become beloved by all for her cheeky wit and devotion to the Royal Family
Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born on August 15, 1950, at Clarence House. Pictured: Anne, aged four, smiling from the window of the Little Welsh House at Windsor
Princess Elizabeth pictured with her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and their two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne
The only daughter and second child of the late Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born on August 15, 1950, at Clarence House.
At that time she was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her mother and older brother, now King Charles. Today, she is 17th in line.
For the earlier part of her life, Anne was educated at home at Buckingham Palace until she broke tradition for princesses and went to Benenden School in Kent in 1963.
Anne began attending public engagements in 1969 when she was 18 years old. Her first act as a working royal was opening an education and training centre in Shropshire.
Since then, the Princess has established relationships with more than 300 charities and organisations across the Commonwealth and has one of the busiest working schedules of any member of the Royal Family.
She became the President of Save the Children UK in 1970, and this was the first major charity with which she became closely associated.
In 1990, when she was 39-years-old, Anne was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia for her work as president of the charity.
‘She loves people,’ Kaunda said at the time. ‘She has extended that love to working for helpless children in many parts of the world. That is love in action.’
The royal developed an interest in horsemanship from a young age and strived to reach the highest level of equestrian competition.
Anne especially favoured the three-day-event, where both male and female riders compete against each other in a test of overall ability. She won the individual European championship in 1971, was a member of the winning British team, and was nominated Sportswoman of the Year.
At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her mother and older brother
The royal developed an interest in horsemanship from a young age, which she has carried with her throughout her years. Pictured: Anne with a horse during the 1961 Windsor Horse Show
Princess Anne riding her horse “Goodwill” during the dressage part of the European three-day Championship in Luhmuelen as a member of the British team in September 1975
Princess Anne pictured during the three-day eventing competition at Burghley Horse Trials in Lincolnshire in September 1971
Anne and Captain Phillips were married in Westminster Abbey on November 14, 1973
Princess Anne became the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Olympic Games, at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games as a member of the British Three-Day Event team.
Today, she is also President of the British Olympic Association and a Member of the International Olympic Committee.
It was a shared interest in the sport that brought Anne together with her first husband, army officer Captain Mark Phillips.
He proposed to the Princess with a sapphire and diamond engagement ring, and after announcing their engagement, the pair were asked: ‘Do you think the marriage can withstand the enormous pressures of public duty and publicity that you have to endure?’
To which Anne replied, ‘Can? It’s got to, hasn’t it?’
Anne and Captain Phillips were married in Westminster Abbey on November 14, 1973, which happened to be the 25th birthday of her older brother, King Charles.
Her wedding dress was a Tudor-style with trumpet sleeves made by Maureen Baker, the head designer for the ready-to-wear company Susan Small. The gown featured a high-collared and had an embroidered Tudor style.
The bride’s wedding tiara was the Queen Mary Fringe tiara, which was also worn by her mother, the then Princess Elizabeth, on her wedding day.
Just four months after her wedding, Anne survived an armed kidnapping attempt on March 20, 1974.
Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne attending a function at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna, during a State Visit to Austria in May 1969
Princess Anne sits with her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, while Prince Charles stands next to his father, Prince Philip, in the salon at Sandringham House
Prince Philip on his 50th birthday with his daughter Princess Anne in London on June 10, 1971
As she and her new husband drove down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, their Rolls Royce was blocked by a car driven by the mentally disturbed gunman, Ian Ball.
Ball, who was attempting to kidnap the then 23-year-old Princess, left his vehicle with a handgun, shooting the chauffeur, her security officer and a nearby journalist.
When Ball told Princess Anne to get out of the car, she replied: ‘Not bloody likely.’
The gunman was stopped when he was bundled to the ground by officer Peter Edmonds after being punched in the head by passing former boxer Ronnie Russell, who had led Anne to safety.
The couple had two children, Peter Mark Phillips born on 15 November 1977 and Zara Phillips born on 15 May 1981.
Much like her mother, Zara also found a successful career in horse riding and won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics and was presented with her medal by Anne.
Since June 1974, HRH has held the appointment of Chief Commandant of the Women’s Naval Service, which was renamed Chief Commandant of Women in the Royal Navy almost 20 years later.
She also holds many other military titles across the Commonwealth and has held the rank of Admiral since 2012.
While she did not serve in the military herself, Anne carries out hundreds of engagements with her military patronages and affiliations every year.
She was known as Princess Anne until she was given the title of The Princess Royal by The Queen in June 1974. This is a title traditionally carried by the eldest daughter of the British monarch and held for life.
Zara Philips with her mother, Princess Anne, at the Windsor Horse Show in May 1985
Queen Elizabeth with her daughter Princess Anne and grandchildren Peter and Zara Phillips while attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 1985
Commander Tim Laurence and Princess Anne seen in their car after their wedding at Crathie Church in Scotland on December 12, 1992
The Princess Royal during the King’s procession during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023
In April 1992, Anne and Captain Phillips divorced following years of marital strain.
And on December 12 of the same year, she married Commander Timothy Laurence, now Admiral Laurence, a naval officer and former aide to Queen Elizabeth.
The couple had to marry in Scotland since the Church of England did not allow remarriages after divorce, and the ceremony was a modest affair – with only the Royal Family in attendance and with her daughter serving as bridesmaid.
The Princess Royal now has five grandchildren: Savannah Phillips, 12, Isla Phillips, 11, Mia Tindall, 9, Lena Tindall, 5, and Lucas Tindall, 2.
A recent YouGov poll found her to be the popular member of the Royal Family, ahead of Catherine, Princess of Wales.
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