Princess Anne celebrates her 75th birthday today (August 15) and is said to have opted for a ‘no fuss’ way to mark the personal milestone
Princess Anne’s no-nonsense attitude is said to be one of the reasons why she is often considered among the most popular members of the Royal Family. And it is something that appears to stretch to her birthday celebrations.
The Princess Royal is set to celebrate her 75th birthday today. Anne however appears to have shunned a big birthday bash to mark the occasion.
She did, though, opt to publicly acknowledge the moment at a Buckingham Palace charity forum in June when celebrating 100 of her 400 patronages. A new portrait of Anne, along with husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, was also released ahead of her birthday milestone.
The Royal Mint has marked Anne’s personal milestone with a new commemorative £5 coin that it says “celebrates the legacy of one of the longest-serving members of the British Royal Family”.
One insider says it is a testament of Anne’s character. Speaking to Hello! magazine, they said: “This personifies what Her Royal Highness cares about.
“She didn’t want to do anything for her birthday but bring her charities together to hear more about their work and how she can help them.”
On the Pod Save the King podcast, Jennifer Newton, Deputy Royal Editor at The Daily Mirror explained there would be “no fuss” about Anne’s birthday. She said: “The Royal Mint has made their first commemorative coin for Princess Anne so it’s quite interesting to think that she has never had anything like this before, but yeah, it’s the first coin that has Anne’s depiction on it. It has Anne on one side and the King on the other and she’s approved it.
“Apparently this is all we’re going to get when it comes to her birthday, which is in a few weeks time, she turns 75. According to reports she doesn’t want to have any fuss, no big celebration, nothing, this is the only thing.”
Mirror Online’s Executive Editor Anne Gripper characterised Anne as “a no fuss Royal”. This prompted Newton to observe: “This shows she doesn’t want any fuss, she just wants to get on with the day and she’ll probably just be doing what she always does, working, like the workhorse she is. No special plans for her birthday.”
Anne is broadly regarded as “the hardest working” member of the Royal Family. In 2024 Anne undertook 395 engagements in the UK and another 79 abroad, surpassing any other Royal.
It marked the fourth consecutive year that the Princess Royal headed the list. Experts have attributed Anne’s achievements to her willingness to undertake multiple engagements in a single day.
Anne is recognised for “popping in and out” of engagements via helicopter owing to time limitations. Commentators nevertheless observe that she has consistently “done the reading” and remains “thoroughly committed”.
On the Right Royal Podcast, Andrea Caamano recounted a moment she witnessed Anne’s preparation. She said: “I actually did see Princess Anne once, on the street, and she was on her official cart and she was reading notes ahead of going to an event, so there we go, hard-working.”
Anne’s position as the hardest-working Royal nevertheless faces some serious competition this year. King Charles has reportedly undertaken a quarter of the Royal Family’s engagements in the first quarter of 2025.
He has undertaken nearly 260 engagements out of a total of 1,100 from the beginning of the year to May 31, according to Write Royalty.
