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Famous
Royalty > Princess Anne
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Princess
Anne
Her
Royal Highness The Princess Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth
Alice Louise Laurence, formerly Windsor), styled HRH The Princess
Royal (born August 15, 1950), is a member of the British Royal Family.
She is the seventh holder of the title Princess Royal. She has been
a princess with the style of Her Royal Highness since her birth and
is currently ninth in the line of succession to the British throne.
The Princess Royal is most famous for her charitable work. She is
the only member of the British Royal Family to have competed in the
Olympic Games.
Early Life
Anne was born on August 15, 1950 at Clarence House, London. Her father
is His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the son of
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Her mother was Her Royal Highness
The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (now Queen Elizabeth
II), the eldest daughter of King George VI. |
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Shortly before the birth
of her elder brother, Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1948, King George
VI issued Letters Patent granting the titular dignity of Prince or
Princess of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the style Royal
Highness to any children born to the Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of
Edinburgh and the Duke of Edinburgh. From her birth until her mother's
ascension to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II in February 1953, she
was known as Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh.
Princess Anne was educated in Buckingham Palace and then at the private
boarding school Benenden in Kent.
Princess Anne
On February 6, 1952, Anne's grandfather, King George VI died, and
her mother ascended the throne. Anne was now styled Her Royal Highness
The Princess Anne. Given her young age, she did not attend her mother's
coronation. Princess Anne began to undertake royal and official duties
as a teenager in the late 1960s.
Anne was also keen on horses, and equine pursuits have been an important
part of her life. At the age of 21, she won the individual European
Three-Day Event at Burghley and was voted BBC's BBC Sports Personality
of the Year in 1971. For over five years she competed with the British
eventing team, winning a silver medal in both individual and team
disciplines in the 1975 European Three-Day Event Championships held
in Germany. The following year she participated in the 1976 Montreal
Olympic Games as a member of the British team.
Marriage
On November 14, 1973 Princess Anne married Mark Phillips, a Lieutenant
and later Captain in the Queen's Dragoon Guards at Westminster Abbey,
London. The marriage was televised around the world with an estimated
auidance of 100 million. The couple have two children:
Peter Phillips (born (15 November 1977)
Zara Phillips (15 May 1981)
On their wedding day, the Queen offered Mark Phillips a peerage, but
was refused. Thus when the couple had children, they were the first
grandchildren of the sovereign to carry no title. It is said that
the Queen offered to create her grandchildren princes under a letters
patent, but this was refused by Princess Anne, who wished her children
not to have any titles.
After their wedding, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, lived at Gatcombe
Park, in Gloucestershire.
Kidnap Attempt
The most terrifying incident in Anne's life was the failed kidnap
attempt made on March 20, 1974. To this day, it remains the closest
any individual has come to kidnapping a member of the Royal Family.
The incident occurred as Princess Anne and Mark Philips were returning
to Buckingham Palace from an engagement. Their chauffeur-driven Rolls
Royce was blocked in the road on Pall Mall by another car. A man (Ian
Ball) jumped from the car and fired six shots, wounding several people
on the street. Anne's private detective jumped across to shield the
princess, and then returned fire, injuring the kidnapper, who at this
point had tried to gain entry to the car. A nearby police officer
gave chase and arrested Ian Ball, who was imprisoned in a mental hospital.
In his pocket was a ransom note to the Queen for £3 million.
The incident prompted higher security levels for the Royal Family.
Princess Royal
On June 13, 1987, the Queen bestowed the title of Princess Royal on
Anne, the seventh creation of this ancient title. Anne was now to
be styled Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. The title is only
given to the eldest daughter of the sovereign, the last holder being
King George V's daughter, Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood.
Divorce and Remarriage
In April, 1992, the Princess Royal and Mark Philips announced their
intention to separate. The marriage had been under strain for many
years. On December 12, 1992, Anne remarried, the first royal divorcee
since Henry VIII of England to do so. She choose to remarry in the
Church of Scotland since the Church of England forbade divorcees from
remarrying in their churches, a stance that is now softening.
She married Timothy Laurence in Crathie Church on the Balmoral Estate,
Aberdeenshire. They have no children together.
Charity Work
The Princess Royal carries out the most engagments of any member of
the Royal Family. After the Queen, she is considered the most valuable
asset of the Royal Family. It has even been suggested in the British
media, that she would make a suitable Queen should The Prince of Wales
renounce his claim to marry Camilla Parker Bowles. This current popularity
is a contrast to her previous reputation when she earned the nickname,
Princess Sourpuss.
The Princess Royal works extensively for the charity, Save the Children
of which she has been president since 1970. Her work for the charity
takes her all over the world, including many poverty striken African
nations. She is also the British representative in the International
Olympic Committee as an administrator, where she has reportedly made
considerable quiet efforts to fight the corruption in that organisation
Like other senior royals, The Princess Royal holds a number of honorary
appointments in the British Armed Forces and those of several Commonwealth
countries. She is the:
Colonel-in-Chief of the 14/20,
the King's Own Hussars,
the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29/45 Foot),
the Eighth Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's),
the Royal Corps of Signals,
the Canadian Forces Communications and Electronics Branch,
the Royal Army Veterinary Corps,
and the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Militia.
chief commandant of the Women's Royal Naval Service
chief commandant for women in the Royal Navy, with the honorary rank
of rear admiral,
honorary air commodore in the RAF Lyneham.
since 2000, the Princess Royal has served as Gold Stick and colonel-in-chief
of The Blues and the Royals.
Since 2001, she has served as the chancellor of the University of
London.
Court Case
In 2002, the Princess Royal became the first member of the royal family
face criminal charges since King Charles I was charged with treason.
She pleaded guilty to the charge that her dog, Dotty, attacked two
boys while she and her husband were taking her for a walk in Windsor
Great Park. The Princess Royal was fined £500 and ordered to
give more training for Dotty. In December 2003, one of the Queen's
corgis had to be put down, after being savaged by another of the Princess
Royal's dogs, Florence.
Titles and honours
Titles from birth
to present
Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh
Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal
Honours
Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
Dame Grand Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Queen's Service
Order |
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