69 years ago today (London time), Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born at 11:50am at Clarence House.
The Queen’s only daughter, the Princess Royal is now 14th in line to the throne following her older brother, Prince Charles’ children having had children of their own.
This speaks to the character of the woman affectionately dubbed “the hardest working royal”: she hasn’t thrown herself into her royal duties for any other reason than service to Queen and country.
And the public knows it; a recent exclusive poll conducted by Express.co.uk showed their great fondness for their Princess Royal.
Well known and loved for her charitable work, Princess Anne is a patron of over 200 organisations and regularly attends multiple engagements on a daily basis.
A great horse-lover, the philanthropist Princess has won numerous awards for her equestrian skills.
So significant is the Princess’ equestrian prowess, she is the first member of the British royal family to compete in the Olympic Games: in the equestrian three-day event in Montreal in 1976, riding the Queen’s horse, Goodwill.
Described as “a take no prisoner type of person with a strong personality,” the Princess is said to be
“very much more like her father than her mother”.
Despite nudging 70, the Princess is not easy to keep up with: last year alone Princess Anne notched up 447 domestic appearances and 71 overseas outings, amounting to more than Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry’s engagements combined.
Giving the young’uns something to aspire to, “the hardest working royal” clearly inherited her mother’s work ethic.