Princess Anne is best known for her no-nonsense attiude to her extensive duties and her straightforward approach – and it seems she’s taking that attitude when it comes to her 75th birthday
She is often regarded as the Royal Family’s hardest-working member with a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to her extensive duties.
And as Princess Anne celebrates her landmark 75th birthday, it is exactly that no-fuss attitude that she is taking when it comes to celebrating.
There will be no major public party, and no TV interview – in fact, the only way her birthday is being marked is with a new commemorative coin from the Royal Mint, which is the first ever to feature Anne’s depiction. Last year, the Princess Royal completed 474 engagements up and down the country, as well as abroad, as she retained her ‘hardest-working’ royal title.
(Image: Getty Images)
The number would have been much more if it weren’t for the fact she was forced to take a break from work last June after a stint in hospital after suffering a nasty concussion following an incident thought to involve a horse on her Gatcombe estate in Gloucestershire.
And according to royal expert Jennie Bond, it is exactly her no-nonsense attitude that drives her forward in her non-stop work. She exclusively explained: “She has always been a no-fuss woman. Her manner is crisp, clean and efficient. That’s how she regularly gets four or five jobs done a day – often in different parts of the country.
“There have been times when I think she has felt underappreciated. She once berated me for mentioning that Diana had been a champion of AIDS sufferers — I had been with the Princess Royal on a visit to an AIDS project in Uganda. Diana had recently died, and the charity asked me to tell Anne that they needed a new champion. The request did not go down well.
“But in recent years, I think her immense contribution to supporting her brother and the monarchy has been fully recognised. She is incredibly hard working and shows no sign of slowing down.”
Anne was born on August 15, 1950, at Clarence House, just under two years before her mother’s life changed forever with her accession to the throne. At the time of her birth, she was third in line to the throne behind her older brother, King Charles.
Their time together in their early years as the late Queen and their father, Prince Philip, often went off on long overseas tours, allowed them to form a life-long bond, as is clear in her current position supporting her older brother when it comes to duty whenever she can.
In fact, during his Coronation, he handed her the starring role of the prestigious “Gold-Stick-in-Waiting” in a gesture of thanks for her unwavering support.
The position is historically handed to a person entrusted with the personal safety of the sovereign, with the King clearly believing his younger sister, who affectionately calls him ‘Old Bean’, was the perfect choice.
But the influence that the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had over their daughter as parents also cannot be overlooked, according to Jennie – especially when it came to her glittering equestrian career.
Anne became the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Olympics in Montreal in 1976 as a member of Britain’s Equestrian team.
And Jennie explained: “There is a lot of her father in Anne: brusque, to the point and no fan of the media. Like him, she doesn’t like to talk about herself— she just gets the job done.
“As the late Queen’s only daughter, she had a very special bond with Elizabeth. They shared a passion for horses, and the Queen was very proud of Anne’s equestrian achievements.”
However, it’s not just her royal work and supporting her brother, the King, that keeps Anne busy – her family life is also jam-packed too.
The princess, along with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, lives close to both of her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, from her first marriage.
When both Peter and Zara were born, Anne made an eye-raising decision at the time that they would not receive any royal titles – and would be expected to forge their own careers.
And it appears that decision has more than paid off with both siblings agreeing it was the best decision made for them as they pursue independent lives, with Zara following in her mother’s footsteps as an Olympian Equestrian.
Zara is famously married to former England rugby player Mike Tindall, with the couple having three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas. Peter also has two daughters – Savannah and Isla – whom he shares with ex-wife Autumn.
Both Peter and Zara have previously revealed what a hands-on granny she can be, while Mike once pulled back the curtain on Anne’s cheeky sense of humour while he was a contestant on a previous series of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
And Jennie added: “I think she has the love and admiration of her children, Peter and Zara. They are particularly grateful to her for having the foresight to decide against giving them titles.
“They value the freedom and independence that this status (or lack of) has given them. And she is evidently quite a fun grandmother to have around – especially when it comes to teaching the children to ride.
“Anne’s sense of humour is dry – like her mother’s – but she’s no prude. She had a great comeback when her son-in-law, Mike Tindall, split his trousers dancing, revealing his underpants with the memorable logo ‘Nibble my Nuts’. ‘I’d rather not!’ the princess quipped.”
So with her own immediate family life settled, could Anne offer her support when it comes to her brother Charles’ tricky situation when it comes to his youngest son, Prince Harry?
Harry revealed earlier this year he is no longer on speaking terms with his father, the King, while his relationship with older brother Prince William is also said to be almost non-existent. His gripes with his family were laid bare in his memoir, Spare, a nod to being a second-born child, like his aunt, Anne.
A source close to Anne reportedly told how if Harry had reached out to his aunt, she could have shared her invaluable experience of her role. And Jennie agrees it would have been a perfect idea.
She said: “Anne would have been the perfect person to offer advice and guidance – but, sadly, this is no longer relevant as Harry has made it quite clear that he has no desire to return to life as a working royal.
“She could have told her nephew that ‘playing second fiddle’ is the wrong way to look at his status. Instead, as she has shown, the second-born can be an invaluable support to the institution of monarchy, and a vital friend, confidant and wingman/woman to the monarch.
“She could have explained that they are a team, a firm, working together to keep the monarchy relevant and using their platform to help charities and communities.
“It may be that the King has discussed his family troubles with Anne, but I rather doubt that she would want to get involved. To Anne, loyalty is paramount, and I suspect she feels that Harry has been extremely disloyal to his father, his brother and the monarchy. She might well find that hard to forgive.”
However, now as Anne looks to the future, she is said to be already pondering what life will have in store for her beyond her upcoming birthday.
In an interview earlier this year on a trip to South Africa, she was asked about retirement amid fewer working royals and admitted it “isn’t really an option”. And sources have recently told how there are no signs of her slowing down in the immediate future.
In fact, insiders say she is keen to push on with work until she is at least 80, before slowing down and maybe winding down completely around the age of 90 – much like her father, Philip.
And while continuing work may seem to be one certainty, one thing Jennie believes will almost never happen is Anne embracing social media.
The princess has earned a legion of online fans, especially on TikTok, thanks to her younger days, where she had a somewhat colourful love life, survived a kidnap attempt – and wore the most fashionable 60s and 70s clothes.
To this day, some of her outfits from 40 to 50 years ago are still in her wardrobe, being worn on engagements nowadays from time to time. But despite her new fans, Jennie added: “I think she’d be amused and bemused by the comments on TikTok, but I don’t imagine that she’d really give them a second thought. I don’t think social media is her scene at all.”
