She may be far, far removed from the throne, but Princess Anne could take the crown as the hardest working — and most low key — royal in the family.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00She may be far, far removed from the throne, but Princess Anne could take the crown as
00:06the hardest-working and most low-key royal in the family.
00:10Sitting still really doesn't happen very much.
00:14Princess Anne may be the second child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip,
00:19Duke of Edinburgh, but she is 16th in the line of succession to the throne, far behind
00:25her brothers.
00:26The princess grew up during a time when male siblings were given priority in the line of
00:31succession.
00:32This is why both of Anne's younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, are ahead
00:37of her.
00:38In 2013, the Succession to the Crown Act changed the way the order of succession is determined,
00:44making gender no longer a factor.
00:47Unfortunately for Anne, this act only applies to royal family members born after 2011, so
00:53she remains in the 16th spot in the line of succession.
00:57When the Succession to the Crown Act went into place, former UK Prime Minister David
01:02Cameron spoke about why it was important to eradicate the outdated rules.
01:07The idea that a younger son should become monarch simply because he's a man is at odds
01:12with the modern countries that we've all become.
01:14Princess Anne is often considered the hardest-working member of the royal family, but she took on
01:19even more responsibilities after the deaths of her mother and father.
01:24Anne has since become an advisor to her brother, King Charles III.
01:28This was nothing new for the princess, however, who has been known to take pride in her royal
01:33duties.
01:34Historian Edward Owens told the New York Times,
01:38"...Growing up when she did, Anne appreciated that the monarchy could only survive if it
01:43could justify its existence.
01:45She's always recognized that the family can only enjoy the privileges of royal life if
01:50they work hard."
01:51Anne's long list of responsibilities includes her involvement with over 300 organizations
01:57and military regiments.
01:59She has helped to create a number of charities, including Save the Children, Carers Trust,
02:04TransAid, and Riders for Health.
02:07The princess's children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, opened up about her hard-working
02:12nature for ITV's special, Anne.
02:15The Princess Royal at 70.
02:17Age is not a thing to her, it's, you know, very much the more she keeps doing, the younger
02:23she'll stay."
02:25Princess Anne's impressive equestrian career took her all the way to becoming an Olympic
02:29competitor.
02:30Anne first began mastering horseback riding at 11 years old.
02:35By 21, she was named BBC's Sport Personality of the Year.
02:40Her skills got her to the European Three-Day Event Championships twice.
02:44In addition to earning an individual gold medal during her debut appearance in 1971,
02:50she was also awarded silver medals for her skills in both the individual and team disciplines
02:55in 1975.
02:57In 1976, Anne competed in the Montreal Olympic Games.
03:02And although she did not nab any medals, her brief competitive stint led to her continued
03:08affiliation with the Olympics years later.
03:11She is both the president of the British Olympic Association and a member of the International
03:16Olympic Committee.
03:17In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Anne revealed why she was so passionate about her
03:22chosen sport, saying,
03:24"'I thought if I was going to do anything outside of the Royal Family, horses was likely
03:29to be the best way of doing it.'"
03:31The British Royal also went on to explain the importance of choosing the right horse,
03:36saying,
03:37"'The original horse I rode was bred as a polo pony and should never have been an
03:41event horse, but it worked, so that was very satisfying, but I always knew it was going
03:47to be limited time.'"
03:49In 1974, Princess Anne's courageousness was put on full display.
03:54She was in a limousine with her then-husband, Captain Mark Phillips, as well as her lady
03:59in waiting and her bodyguard, Inspector Jim Beaton.
04:03While traveling to Buckingham Palace, a Ford escort stopped Anne's vehicle on the road.
04:08The armed would-be kidnapper, Ian Ball, then exited the Ford and shot Beaton, along with
04:13Anne's driver and a journalist who had attempted to help.
04:17Ball demanded that Anne get out of the car, but she refused.
04:21When another passerby jumped into the fray, Ball was distracted long enough for Anne to
04:32escape out the other side of the car.
04:35She later recounted to authorities,
04:37"'I thought that if I was out of the car that he might move.'"
04:40Following his arrest, Ball was admitted to a mental health facility.
04:45Anne later reflected on how her equestrian training came in handy during the incident,
04:50telling ITV,
04:51"'Strangely, I had thought about it before that.
04:55What would you do if...?''
04:56One thing about horses and sport is you have to prepare for the unexpected and you've got
05:01to think your way through the sort of problems that are likely to occur."
05:05Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips met in 1968 at a horse-riding event.
05:10Phillips, although a commoner, had an impressive military background.
05:14After attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he became a second lieutenant while
05:19serving in the army, before ultimately rising to the rank of captain.
05:23Though the two didn't immediately strike a romantic relationship, they ultimately tied
05:28the knot in 1973.
05:30Their royal nuptials were unsurprisingly lavish and star-studded, as well as the first to
05:36be televised.
05:37However, the media adoration surrounding the couple, who later welcomed two children, unfortunately
05:43wouldn't translate into long-time marital bliss.
05:47Both Anne and Phillips were subjected to scandals surrounding alleged infidelity.
05:52In 1989, it was reported that Anne had been receiving romantic letters from Timothy Lawrence,
05:58an equerry for Queen Elizabeth at the time.
06:00But the most shocking blow to the marriage came in 1991, when reports surfaced that Phillips
06:06fathered a child with a teacher named Heather Tonkin.
06:10Phillips initially denied it, but according to the Express, he had been making substantial
06:14payments to Tonkin for five years.
06:17Anne and Phillips finally divorced in 1992, and Lawrence soon became the princess's second
06:23husband.
06:24Do you think you would have married out of a sense of duty?
06:27No way.
06:30As a member of the royal family, Princess Anne has always been expected to uphold a
06:35favorable public image.
06:37Even as a young adult, she still had to consider her relatives' opinions on her potential romantic
06:42partners.
06:43Take, for example, when the princess began dating Olympian Richard Meade around 1970.
06:50Prince Philip reportedly did not approve of the couple's 12-year age gap, and a 20-year-old
06:55Anne eventually complied and parted ways with her older boyfriend.
07:00According to royal journalist Angela Levin, who spoke with Channel 5 for its special,
07:05Princess Anne, The Seven Loves of Her Life, Anne wasn't bitter.
07:10Around this time, Anne also had an alleged fling with Andrew Parker Bowles, the man who,
07:16at 11 years her senior, would later marry and divorce Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles.
07:22This fling was short-lived in part because Andrew was Catholic, and thus prohibited from
07:27marrying a royal in the line of succession.
07:30After numerous brief romances and her ill-fated marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, Anne swiftly
07:36moved on with now-husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Lawrence.
07:40Their 1992 wedding in Scotland was a much smaller affair than Anne's 1973 nuptials,
07:46but luckily, these lovebirds have been able to find humor in their rocky past.
07:51It's quite amusing that she married first an army officer and then a naval officer,
07:55so there must be something about the military that attracts her.
07:59It seems that Princess Anne aimed to provide her children a sense of normalcy despite their
08:04heritage because she decided not to give them royal titles.
08:08She told Vanity Fair,
08:10"'I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there
08:14are downsides to having titles.
08:16So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
08:19Some might say that Anne has been successful in keeping her two children out of the spotlight
08:24because they've gone on to live relatively quiet lives.
08:28However, the princess's daughter, Zara Tindall, momentarily captured the world's attention
08:33when she competed in the 2012 Olympics.
08:37Anne herself suggested that Tindall may have inherited her athleticism from her parents,
08:42telling Vanity Fair,
08:43"'Her father had been a successful equestrian and won a lot more medals than I, so you do
08:48slightly wonder if having two parents who've been in that situation helped.
08:53Zara was always a natural, so she was quite rightly very successful.'"
08:57Meanwhile, Anne's son, Peter Phillips, lives a private life as a businessman.
09:03Prince Anne made history when she walked behind Prince Philip's casket during his royal funeral
09:08procession in 2021.
09:11As the daughter of the prince, some might argue that Anne had good reason to go against
09:15the years-old rule that only permits men to be part of funeral processions within the
09:20royal family.
09:21The princess also released a statement following her father's death that proved just how close
09:26she was with the late prince, which read, in part,
09:30"'My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example
09:36of a life well-lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.'
09:41Nearly a year and a half later, Anne lost her mother, Queen Elizabeth.
09:46She released a statement at the time that revealed she had been with the queen in her
09:50last hours.
09:51"'I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother's life.
09:56It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys.
10:01Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling
10:06and uplifting.'
10:08Yet despite spending those emotional last moments with her mother, Anne flew from London
10:13to Scotland to take care of her royal duties just one day after the queen's funeral.
10:19Save the Children is an expansive organisation that helps ensure children around the world
10:24have access to food, healthcare, education and a safe environment.
10:29From 1970 to 2017, Princess Anne served as its president before becoming its patron.
10:36In a statement shared to the organisation's website, she said,
10:39"'I am proud of my long association with Save the Children.
10:44It is an organisation that embodies a spirit of compassion, openness and excellence.
10:49Its values are an inspiration, its achievements a source of hope for millions of children.'
10:55For her part, Anne has travelled to a number of countries as part of her work there, including
11:00China, Cambodia, Botswana, Madagascar and the Philippines, and she even received a Nobel
11:07Peace Prize nomination in 1990.
11:10The princess herself has played no small role in the organisation's philanthropic endeavours
11:15and successes.
11:19For more UN videos visit www.un.org