Anne married CaptainMark Phillips in 1973; they separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992. They have two children,Peter Phillips andZara Tindall, and five grandchildren. Within months of her divorce in 1992, Anne married Commander (later Vice Admiral) SirTimothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mother'sequerry between 1986 and 1989.
Agoverness, Catherine Peebles, was appointed to look after Anne and her brothers, Charles,Andrew, andEdward. Peebles was responsible for Anne's early education atBuckingham Palace.[9] Given her young age at the time, Anne did not attendher mother's coronation in June 1953.[10]
AGirl Guides company, the1st Buckingham Palace Company to include the Holy Trinity Brompton Brownie pack, was re-formed in May 1959, specifically so that, as her mother and her auntPrincess Margaret had done as children, Anne could socialise with girls her own age. The company was active until 1963, when Anne went toboarding school.[11] Anne enrolled atBenenden School in 1963. In 1968, she left school with sixGCEO-Levels and twoA-Levels.[9] She began to undertake royal engagements in 1969, at the age of 18.[12]
For more than five years, Anne also competed with the Britisheventing team, winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in the 1975 European Eventing Championship.[20] The following year, she participated in the1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a member of the British team, riding the Queen's horse, Goodwill, in Eventing.[3] Anne suffered aconcussion halfway through the course but remounted and finished the event; she has stated she cannot remember making the rest of the jumps.[19] The British team had to pull out of the competition after two horses were injured.[21][22] She finished fourth at theBadminton Horse Trials in 1974 and sixth in 1979, having participated five times in the competition between 1971 and 1979.[16][23] In 1985, she rode in a charity horse race at theEpsom Derby, finishing fourth.[19]
Anne assumed the presidency of theFédération Équestre Internationale from 1986 until 1994.[24] On 5 February 1987, she became the first member of the royal family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz show when she competed on the BBC panel gameA Question of Sport.[20] The princess has been a patron of theRiding for the Disabled Association since 1971 and became its president in 1985, a position she still holds.[25]
In June 2024, Anne was taken toSouthmead Hospital inBristol with minor injuries and concussion believed to be caused by impact with a horse's legs or head.[26]
Anne metMark Phillips, a lieutenant in the1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, in 1968 at a party for horse lovers.[27] Their engagement was announced on 29 May 1973.[28][29] On 14 November 1973, the couple married atWestminster Abbey in a televised ceremony, with an estimated audience of 100 million.[30] They subsequently took up residence atGatcombe Park. Media reported that Phillips was offered anearldom, as was then customary for untitled men marrying into the royal family, but he and Anne declined the offer.[31] Consequently their children were born withouttitles.[32] Anne and her husband had two children:Peter (born 1977) andZara Phillips (born 1981).[33] Anne and Phillips have five grandchildren. On 31 August 1989, Anne and Phillips announced their intention to separate; the couple had been rarely seen in public together and both were romantically linked with other people.[27][34][35] They shared custody of their children, and initially announced that "there were no plans for divorce."[36][37] On 13 April 1992, the Palace announced that Anne had filed for divorce, which was finalised ten days later.[38][39]
For the wedding ceremony, Anne wore a white jacket over a "demure, cropped-to-the-knee dress" and a spray of white flowers in her hair.[47] Her engagement ring was made of "acabochonsapphire flanked by three small diamonds on each side".[48] Following the marriage service, the couple and guests headed toCraigowan Lodge for a private reception.[41] Laurence received nopeerage, although he was knighted in 2011.[49]
On 20 March 1974, Anne and Mark Phillips were returning toBuckingham Palace when a car forced their Rolls-Royce to stop onPall Mall.[50] The driver of the car, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol.InspectorJames Beaton, Anne's personal protection officer, exited the car to shield her and to try to disarm Ball. Beaton's firearm, aWalther PPK, jammed, and he was shot by Ball, as was Anne's chauffeur, Alex Callender, when he tried to disarm Ball.[50] Brian McConnell, a nearbytabloid journalist, also intervened, and was shot in the chest.[51] Ball approached Anne's car and told her that he intended to kidnap her and hold her for ransom, the sum given by varying sources as £2 million[52] or £3 million, which he claimed he intended to give to theNational Health Service.[53] Ball told Anne to get out of the car, to which she replied, "Not bloody likely!" She reportedly briefly considered hitting Ball.[54] In 1983, she spoke about the event onParkinson, saying she was 'scrupulously polite' to Ball as she thought it would be 'silly to be too rude at that stage'.[55]
Eventually, Anne exited the other side of the limousine, as had herlady-in-waiting, Rowena Brassey. A passing pedestrian, a former boxer named Ron Russell, punched Ball and led Anne away from the scene. At that point,Police Constable Michael Hills happened upon the scene; he too was shot by Ball, but he had already called for police backup.Detective ConstablePeter Edmonds answered, gave chase, and finally arrested Ball.[50] Beaton, who had been Anne's sole bodyguard, later said about royal security "I had nothing… There was no back-up vehicle. The training was non-existent; but then again, [we thought] nothing was going to happen. They are highly specialised now, highly trained." Immediately after the attack the use of only a single protection officer was stopped, and the Walther PPK pistol was replaced.[56]
Beaton, Hills, Callender, and McConnell were hospitalised, and recovered from their wounds. For his defence of Anne, Beaton was awarded theGeorge Cross by the Queen, who was visitingIndonesia when the incident occurred;[55] Hills and Russell were awarded theGeorge Medal, and Callender, McConnell, and Edmonds were awarded theQueen's Gallantry Medal.[57] Anne visited Beaton in hospital and thanked him for his assistance.[55] It was widely reported that the Queen paid off Russell's mortgage, but this is not true: Russell said in 2020 that a police officer suggested it might happen, so he stopped paying his mortgage in anticipation and nearly had his house repossessed after four months.[58]
Ball pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was detained in mental hospitals for 45 years. He was released in 2019. In 2025, he made claims of innocence, stating that the attempt was meant to fail as part of a stunt.[59] The attempted kidnapping of Anne is the focus of theGranada Television-produced docudramaTo Kidnap a Princess (2006) and inspired story lines inTom Clancy's novelPatriot Games.[60]
Anne undertakes a number of duties and engagements on behalf of the sovereign.Kevin S. MacLeod, the thenCanadian Secretary to the Queen, said of Anne in 2014: "Her credo is, 'Keep me busy. I'm here to work. I'm here to do good things. I'm here to meet as many people as possible'."[61] It was reported in December 2017 that Anne had undertaken the most official engagements that year out of all the royal family, her mother the Queen included.[62][63] Among her royal visits, Anne has toured Norway,[64] Jamaica,[65] Germany,[66] Austria,[67] New Zealand, and Australia.[68]
Anne's first public engagement was at the opening of an educational and training centre inShropshire in 1969. Anne travels abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom up to three times a year. She began to undertake overseas visits upon leaving secondary school,[9] and accompanied her parents on astate visit to Austria in the same year.[69] Her first tour of Australia was with her parents in 1970, since which she returned many times to undertake official engagements as acolonel-in-chief of an Australian regiment, or to attend memorials and services such as the National Memorial Service for victims of theBlack Saturday bushfires in Melbourne on 22 February 2009.[70] In 1990 she became the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to theSoviet Union when she went there as a guest of PresidentMikhail Gorbachev and his government.[69][71]
The Princess Royal hosting an investiture ceremony at the residence of the British Consul General, October 2022
In August 2016, she returned to Russia to visit the city ofArkhangelsk for the 75th anniversary ofOperation Dervish, which was one of the firstArctic convoys of World War II.[72] In September 2016, Anne had a chest infection and was required to cancel official engagements.[73] In late October 2016, she visited the Malaysian state ofSarawak for a two-day study tour.[74] In April 2022, Anne and her husband toured Australia and Papua New Guinea to markthe Queen's Platinum Jubilee.[75][76] On 12 September 2022, inSt Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Anne became the first woman to participate in aVigil of the Princes, guarding her mother's coffin.[77] This was repeated atWestminster Hall on 16 September.[78] It was later revealed that she had been the informant ather mother's death at Balmoral, a witness who signs, along with the doctor, the death certificate.[79]
The Princess Royal visitsUSNSComfort on 11 July 2002, while the vessel docked atSouthampton.
Anne is involved with more than 200 charities and organisations in an official capacity. She works extensively forSave the Children, serving as president from 1970 to 2017, and has been patron since 2017.[80] Anne has visited the organisation's projects in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[80] As a result of her work, she was nominated for theNobel Peace Prize in 1990 byKenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia.[80] She initiatedThe Princess Royal Trust for Carers in 1991.[81] Her extensive work forSt. John Ambulance as Commandant-in-Chief of St. John Ambulance Cadets has helped to develop many young people, as she annually attends the Grand Prior Award Reception.[82][83] She is patron ofSt. Andrew's First Aid.[84][85] In 2021, she became patron ofMercy Ships, an international charity that operates the largest non-governmentalhospital ships in the world.[86]
The Princess Royal is one of the few women in the royal family who regularly wears a military uniform.
Anne has been called the royal family's "trustiest anchor" and a "beacon of good, old-fashioned public service" and has carried out more than 20,000 engagements since her 18th birthday.[130] In her early adulthood, she was cited as a "royal renegade" for choosing to forgo titles for her children despite being the "spare to the heir".[131] The media often called the young Anne "aloof" and "haughty", giving her the nickname "her royal rudeness".[130] She spurred controversy for telling photographers to "naff off" at theBadminton Horse Trials in 1982.[132]Vanity Fair wrote that Anne "has a reputation for having inherited her father's famously sharp tongue and waspish wit".[132] She said of her early public role, "It's not just about 'can I get a tick in the box for doing this?' No, it's about serving… It took me probably 10 years before I really felt confident enough to contribute to Save the Children's public debates because you needed to understand how it works on the ground and that needed a very wide coverage. So my early trips were really important."[132] Anne has been frequently named the "hardest working royal",[133][134] and she carried out 11,088 engagements between 2002 and 2022, more than any other member of the royal family.[135]
Anne remains one of Britain's most popular royals.[136][137][138]Telegraph editorCamilla Tominey called her a "national treasure", writing that she is "hailed as one of the great English eccentrics", whose work ethic contributes to her regard.[131] Tominey wrote that Anne's public role is a "contradiction of both protocol taskmaster and occasional rule-breaker".[130] Reportedly, Anne "insists on doing her own make-up and hair" and occasionally drives herself to engagements, having pleaded guilty to two separate speeding fines on account of being late.[130][139] In 1974, she became the first member of the royal family to hold anHGV licence and has said "I was considering earning my living by driving, and with my HGV licence, I don't mind spending time on my own behind the wheel".[140][141] She does not shake hands with the public during walkabouts, saying, "the theory was that you couldn't shake hands with everybody, so don't start."[130] Members of the public have seen her "mending fences at Gatcombe" and "queuing up for the Portaloos" at her daughter's horse competitions.[130] Her reputation is also coupled with her advocacy for causes out of the mainstream, such as Wetwheels Foundation's commitment to accessible sailing and the National Lighthouse Museum.[130] On her 60th and 70th birthdays, theBBC andVanity Fair both asked whether she would retire, and she denied it both times, citing her parents' example as well as her commitment to her royal duties.[132] Anne's public personality has been described as "not suffering fools lightly" while maintaining a "still-impressive level of grace and courtesy".[142][143]
BritishVogue editorEdward Enninful has said that "Princess Anne is a true style icon and was all about sustainable fashion before the rest of us really knew what that meant".[132] Her style has been noted for its timelessness; she relies almost solely on British fashion brands, with tweed and tailored suits as her hallmarks.[132] She is known for recycling outfits, such as her floral-print dress worn both to thewedding of the Prince of Wales in 1981 and the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor in 2008.[144] Anne is the patron of U.K. Fashion and Textile Association.[145] She has been noted for wearing "bold patterns and vibrant pops of colour".[146] Her style choices often reflect her equestrian interests as well as the practicality of her fast-paced schedule.[147][132] In the 1970s and 1980s, she was often photographed wearing trends such as puff sleeves, cardigans, bright floral patterns, and multicoloured stripes.[146][148] Anne is also one of the few women in the royal family to wear a military uniform.[146] According toThe Guardian, she is "rarely seen without a brooch" during royal events.[148] Her millinery styles have included jockey caps and hats of multiple colours and bold patterns.[148] She presented the Queen Elizabeth II award for British design atLondon Fashion Week in 2020.[148] Anne has appeared on three BritishVogue covers; after first appearing on the 1971 September issue at age 21, she also featured in the May and November 1973 issues, commemorating her engagement to Mark Phillips.[149][150][151] She was featured in the cover story for the May 2020 issue ofVanity Fair.[152] In 2024,Tatler included her on its list of the most glamorous European royals.[153]
Anne is the first member of the royal family to have been convicted of acriminal offence.[154] In November 2002, she pleaded guilty to one charge of having a dog dangerously out of control, an offence under theDangerous Dogs Act 1991, and was fined £500.[155][156]
Quarterly 1st and 4th,Gules three Lions passant guardantOr; 2nd, Or a Lion rampant Gules within a Double-tressure flory counterflory Gules; 3rd, Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent.
Supporters
Dexter, a Lion rampant guardant Or imperially crowned Proper; sinister, a Unicorn Argent, armed, crined and unguled Or, gorged with a Coronet Or composed of Crosses patées and Fleurs-de-lis a Chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or.
The whole differenced by alabel of three points Argent, first and third charged with a St George's Cross the second with a Heart Gules.
Banner
TheRoyal Standard of the United Kingdom labelled for difference as in her arms. (inScotland) (inCanada: since 2013, the Princess Royal has a personalheraldic flag for use in Canada. It is theRoyal Arms of Canada inbanner form defaced with ablueroundel surrounded by a wreath of gold maple leaves, within which is a depiction of an"A" surmounted by a coronet. Above the roundel is awhitelabel of three points, the centre one charged with ared heart and the other two with red crosses.[165][166]) InAustralia: Approval for theRoyal Australian Corps of Signals to carry a banner bearing the cypher of Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne, Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps, was granted on 10 September 1980. The banner was designated the Princess Anne Banner. The Princess Anne Banner was formally presented to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals on 29 November 1986 at Simpson Barracks. The presentation was made on behalf of Her Royal Highness by theGovernor-General of Australia,Sir Ninian Stephen, A.K., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., K.B.E.[167]
Symbolism
As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom: the first and fourth quarters are the arms ofEngland, the second ofScotland, the third ofIreland.
Ian Cowe,Scottish and Manx Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey in the Footsteps of the Stevensons, Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust, 2015,ISBN978-0956720917
Robyn Walker,The Women Who Spied for Britain: Female Secret Agents of the Second World War, Amberley Publishing, 2015,ISBN978-1445645841
Trevor Boult,In Fingal's Wake: A Tender Tribute, Amberley Publishing, 2016,ISBN978-1445648064
Polly Williamson,Where did I go?, Cheltenham Printing, 2017,ISBN978-0993179976
Anne Glyn-Jones,Morse Code Wrens of Station X: Bletchley's Outer Circle, Amphora Press, 2017,ISBN978-1845409081
Trevor Boult,To Sea for Science, distributed by Lily Publications, 2021,ISBN978-1838084530
Ian Robertson,Wooden Spoon Rugby World 2021: 25 Years of Rugby Memories, G2 Entertainment Ltd, 2021,ISBN978-1782816065
^abThe official website of the royal family previously described her as a "Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter" and a "Royal Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle".[159][160]
^As female-line descendants of royalty, the children have no title despite being the grandchildren of a monarch. (They are not the only children of a British princess without titles; the children ofPrincess Alexandra, the Queen's cousin, are also untitled.)
^"Worship on the Web"(PDF).Church of Scotland.Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved1 April 2013.
^In 2002, theChurch of England agreed that divorced persons could remarry in church under certain circumstances, but the matter is left to the discretion of the parish priest.
^"Divorce".The Church of England. Archived fromthe original on 5 February 2011. Retrieved14 March 2018.
^"Chancellor". University of London.Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved14 March 2018.
^"President and Vice Presidents". BAFTA. 30 April 2013.Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018.HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, was named president from 1973, and remained in the post until 2000.
^Howard, Victoria (26 June 2017)."Royal diary: latest engagements 26th June – 1st July". The Crown Chronicles.Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018.Princess Anne will attend a Reception at 229 Great Portland Street, as patron of International Students House.
^ab"Knights of the Orders of Chivalry".Debrett's. Archived fromthe original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved5 March 2012.Although HRH The Princess Royal and HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, are both female they are actually included with the Royal Knights Companions and they bear the post-nominal letters KG (not LG)
^"The Princess Anne, Princess Royal".Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Office of the Governor General of Canada: Canadian Heraldic Authority.Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved4 January 2016.
^Paget, Gerald (1977).The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales(2 vols). Edinburgh: Charles Skilton.ISBN978-0-284-40016-1.
^Princess Royal, Anne (1991).What is Punishment for and How Does it Relate to the Concept of Community?. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-42416-5.
The generations indicate descent fromGeorge I, who formalised the use of the titlesprince andprincess for members of the British royal family. Where a princess may have been or is descended from George I more than once, her most senior descent, by which she bore or bears her title, is used.
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