Happy 70th Birthday Princess Anne!

By MiNDFOOD

Happy 70th Birthday Princess Anne!
To celebrate her 70th birthday, we look back at the extraordinary life of Princess Anne.

Affectionately known as the “hardest working royal”, Anne, The Princess Royal celebrates her 70th birthday on 15 August, 2020.

An Olympic athlete, hostage survivor and fashion icon, Princess Anne has led an incredible life over the past seven decades.

We look back at The Princess Royal’s most memorable moments over the years.

Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburg with their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne, taken in the private sitting room of Clarence House, their London home. 

Family life

Born in London’s Clarence House, when the Queen was still Princess Elizabeth, young Anne went to school and Benenden and took a keen interest in horsemanship at a young age.

Charming third birthday picture of Princess Anne with her brother, Prince Charles. The children, son and daughter of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, both wear their coronation day dress. Princess Anne wears an eight-pearl necklace on a platinum chain, belonging to the Queen. The ruby and diamond brooch was given to the Queen, when a child, by Queen Mary. Prince Anne’s dress is in cream French needlerun lace over chiffon and taffeta. Prince Charles wears cream serge trousers with cream spun silk shirt trimmed with lace jabot, and black patent shoes with silver buckles, embossed with the Scotch Thistle.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDoA1ehHiKw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

She began dating in her early twenties and her first boyfriend was Andrew Parker Bowles, who later married Camilla Shand, Prince Charles’ now second wife.

Getty/Reuters

In 1973, Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony that was televised to an estimated 100 million people.

The couple had two children together, Zara and Peter but divorced in 1992. Within months of the divorce, Anne married Sir Timothy Laurence, her current husband, in a small ceremony at Balmoral Castle.

The first royal to compete at Olympics

In 1976, Princess Anne became the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Olympic Games, riding the Queen’s horse, Goodwill, in a three-day equestrian event in Montreal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwIzDPHerY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Since then, she has had a long-standing love for the Games, and in 1988 she was appointed a Member of the International Olympic Committee and has held numerous roles in the organisation.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (L) and Prince Charles watch a race with Princess Anne (R) during The Braemar Gathering in Braemar September 5, 2009. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne 

In 2012, the Princess played a key role in securing London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. At the same Olympic Games, the Princess’ daughter Zara Phillips followed in her mother’s footsteps by competing in the same equestrian event.

It was a special moment when team Great Britain won silver in the event and Princess Anne presented her daughter with the medals.

A casually dressed Princess Anne, followed by her new bodyguard, Detective Inspector Christopher Hagon (blazer) leaves Westminster Hospital after she visited her injured bodyguard, Inspector James Beaton, who was injured during the kidnap attempt in Pall Mall.

The Hostage – “Not bloody likely!”

In 1974, Princess Anne survived a kidnapping attempt that resulted in four men being shot.

The Princess Royal was on her way home from a charity event with her husband Captain Mark Phillips, whom she had married just four weeks earlier.

As they made their way towards Buckingham Palace in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, they came across a car blocking their route.

The Rolls was forced to come to a halt, and suddenly the driver of the stopped car exited the vehicle and produced a handgun.

The man, Ian Ball, shot Anne’s chauffeur and her personal police officer as they tried to protect her.

The gunman then told the Princess to get out of the car in an attempt to kidnap her, to which Anne replied, “Not bloody likely!”

A police officer happened upon the situation and was also shot, as well as a nearby tabloid journalist who tried to intervene. A former boxer named Ron Russell who was passing by punched Ball in the back of the head.

With more police now witnessing the scene, an officer managed to arrest Ball.

Ball had intended to hold Anne for ransom for a reported sum of £2 million.

Speaking about the incident in ITV documentary Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, the Princess’ protection officer James Beaton praised Anne for her calm demeanour throughout the kidnapping attempt.

“Princess Anne, because she was so cool, calm and collected, I think it kept the situation in control,” he said.

Princess Anne: Hardest working royal

Prince Charles may have won the title of the hardest working royal in 2019, but it came as a surprise.

That’s because traditionally the hardest working member of the Royal Family has been Princess Anne.

Princess Anne with Carol, 8, and Eleanor, 7, (l) clinging to her hands, reluctant to let her go, as she leaves the Children’s Shelter in Edinburgh during the Royal Visit to Scotland. In the background is the Matron, Miss I. J. Wood.

Even so, Anne only fell shy of winning the annual tally last year by 15 engagements, having attended 506 events compared to Charles’ 521.

Timothy Laurence, Britain’s Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Anne, The Princess Royal arrive ahead of the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, near London, Britain May 18, 2019. REUTERS

Both Anne and Charles were miles ahead of their family members – the third hardest working royal in 2019 was Prince Edward, who clocked up 308 engagements.

Despite carrying out less engagements than Charles last year, the Princess Royal did manage to work more days than her brother – 167 days compared to the Prince’s 125.

Princess Anne’s Overseas visits

A busy working royal, Princess Anne undertakes a number of engagements on behalf of her mother. She typically travels abroad three times a year as a representative of the United Kingdom.

Britain’s Princess Anne speaks with a couple who had lost their home in the bushfires, during a visit to a relief centre in Wandong, some 50 km (31 miles) north of Melbourne February 23, 2009. REUTERS

At age 20, she went on her first royal tour in Australia with her parents and has since returned many times, including attending a memorial service for the Black Saturday bushfire victims in 2009.

In 1990, she was the first member of the royal family to officially visit the Soviet Union, where she was invited as a guest of President Mikhail Gorbachev.

As President of Save the Children UK, Princess Anne has made a number of charitable visits overseas, including China, Cambodia, Botswana, Madagascar and the Philippines.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDQ1aSmHtcw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

You may also like

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login