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Anne, Princess Royal

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Princess Anne redirects here. For other princesses called Anne, and other meanings of this name, see Princess Anne (disambiguation).

The Princess Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British Royal Family and the only daughter of Elizabeth II. She is the seventh holder of the title Princess Royal, and is currently ninth in the line of succession to the British Throne. At the time of her birth, she was third in line, but moved to second place from when her mother became Queen, until the birth of her brother, The Prince Andrew, in 1960.

Princess Anne
Princess Royal
SpouseTimothy Laurence (1992 - )
Mark Phillips (1973 - 1992)
IssuePeter Phillips
Zara Phillips
Names
Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise[1]
HouseHouse of Windsor
FatherPhilip, Duke of Edinburgh
MotherElizabeth II

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

Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born on 15 August 1950 at Clarence House, London. Her father is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and the former Princess Alice of Battenberg. Her mother was The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, the eldest daughter of, George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

She was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950 by Cyril Garbett, Archbishop of York. Her godparents were: The Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Andrew Elphinstone, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Shortly before the birth of her elder brother, Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1948, their grandfather issued Letters Patent granting the titular dignity of Prince/ss of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the style Royal Highness to any children born to Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. Thus, from birth, Princess Anne was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh.

Princess Anne was educated in Buckingham Palace and then at Benenden School, a public boarding school in Kent.

The Princess Anne

On 6 February 1952, when Anne's grandfather, George VI, died, her mother ascended the throne as Elizabeth II. 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 has always shown a keen interest in horses, and equine pursuits have been an important part of her life. At the age of 21, she won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship held at Burghley and was voted BBC's BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971 - her daughter Zara Phillips, would win the same award 35 years later, on 10 December 2006. 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 Eventing Championships held in Germany riding the home-bred Doublet. The following year she participated in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games as a member of the British team riding the Queen's horse Goodwill. On 5 February 1987, she appeared as a panellist on the 200th edition of the BBC TV panel game A Question of Sport, becoming the first titled British royal to appear as a contestant on a TV quiz show.

First marriage

On 14 November 1973 Princess Anne married Mark Phillips, a Lieutenant and later Captain in the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards at Westminster Abbey, London. The marriage was televised around the world with an estimated audience of 100 million. The couple have two children, both of whom, like their mother, were born on the 15th day of a month:

As is customary, The Queen is believed to have offered Mark Phillips an earldom on his wedding day, which he turned down. This may also have been the specific wish of Princess Anne, who wanted to shield future children from the publicity that courtesy titles might bring. They thus become the first grandchildren of a sovereign to carry no title, However, they are not the first children of a princess to carry no title. Princess Alexandra's children, the Queen cousins children who were born in the 1960's are untitled.

After their wedding, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips lived at Gatcombe Park, in Gloucestershire.

Kidnap attempt

 
The Princess Royal visits the USNS Comfort on 11 July 2002 while the ship was docked in Southampton, England

Princess Anne was the target of a failed kidnap attempt on 20 March 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 Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace from a London charity event[2] on Pall Mall. Their Rolls Royce was forced to stop by a Ford Escort.[3]. The driver of the Escort, Ian Ball (later judged to be mentally unstable) jumped from his car, firing a gun. Inspector James Beaton, the Princess's private detective, responded by jumping out to shield the Princess as he tried to disarm Ball. However, his gun jammed and he was shot in the head and chest. The chauffeur, Alex Callender[4] was also shot as he tried to disarm Ball. Journalist Brian McConnell, who was passing by, also tried to intervene and was shot once in the chest. As Ball told the Princess of his kidnapping plan and asked her to get out of the car, she replied "Not bloody likely!" and briefly considered hitting Ball.[5] Eventually, the Princess dived out of the car on the other side. A second passer-by, Ron Russell, punched Ball in the back of the head and led Anne away from the scene. PC Michael Hills discovered the scene, but was shot by Ball. However he managed to call for backup. A nearby police officer, DC Peter Edmonds gave chase and finally arrested Ball.[6]

Ball later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and attempted kidnap and was detained under the Mental Health Act. He was sent to Broadmoor Hospital, where he remains. Ball planned to ransom the Princess for a sum given in various sources as £2 million [7] or £3 million. [8] to the NHS[9]. The incident prompted higher security levels for the Royal Family. Beaton was awarded the George Cross. Alex Callender, Brian McConnell, Ron Russell, PC Michael Hills, and DC Peter Edmonds were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.[10]

In 2007 Granada Television produced a docu-drama entitled "To Kidnap A Princess" directed by John Alexander which related this incident.

Ian Ball, still in Broadmoor, has placed bizarre advertisements directing readers to his web site, which offers £1 million to anyone who can prove his theory that the whole incident in fact took place a year later, and formed part of a long-standing and elaborate persecution of Ball by a policeman.

Princess Royal

Styles of
The Princess Royal
File:Princess Anne arms.png
Reference styleHer Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness
Alternative styleMa'am

On 13 June 1987, the Queen bestowed the title of Princess Royal on Princess Anne, the seventh creation of this 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 George V's daughter, Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood.

In May 1996, Princess Anne served as Her Majesty's High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This role granted her, in Scotland, for the duration, higher precedence just below her parents (above her brothers), and the alternative style of Her Grace Her Majesty's High Commissioner.

Divorce and remarriage

In August, 1989, the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate. The marriage had been under strain for many years. The couple divorced in April, 1992. On 12 December 1992, Anne remarried, the first royal divorcee since Victoria of Edinburgh to do so. She chose to remarry in the Church of Scotland since the Church of England forbade divorcees from remarrying in their churches.

She married Timothy Laurence in Crathie Kirk near the Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire. At the time of their marriage, he was a Royal Navy commander, and has since risen to the rank of Rear Admiral. They have no children together.

In 1994, Princess Anne was created a Knight of the Garter by The Queen. She also received special dispensation to use the post-nominal KG, rather than the normal female equivalent of LG.

In 2007, The Princess Royal was given the distinct honour of being installed by The Queen as Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, succeeding her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

Charity work

The Princess Royal carries out the most engagements of any member of the Royal Family. This current popularity is a contrast to her previous reputation when she earned the nickname Princess Sourpuss.

The Princess Royal is involved with over 200 charities and organisations in an official capacity. The Princess Royal works extensively for the charity Save the Children of which she has been president since 1970. The Princess Royal Trust for Carers [1] was created on her initiative in 1991 - her work for the charity takes her all over the world, including many poverty stricken African nations. Also her extensive work for St. 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. She is also a British representative in the International Olympic Committee as an administrator, and is a member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.

Since 1981, she has served as the chancellor of the University of London.

The Princess Royal is also patron of the Scottish Rugby Union and attends most international games at Murrayfield. She is patron of the Wooden Spoon Society the Charity of British and Irish rugby.

Civil Court convictions

In 2001, the Princess Royal became a member of the royal family to face civil court charges. She pleaded guilty to driving at 93 mph on a dual carriageway on her way to Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. She was fined £400 by Cheltenham Magistrates' Court and was given five points on her driving licence.

In 2002, the Princess Royal was convicted of a second civil offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. 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 by Berkshire Magistrates' Court 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, styles, honours and arms

Titles

Honours

British Honours
The first date listed indicates the date of appointment, and the second, when the appointment became void (usually because of appointment to a higher grade).

Foreign Honours

Honorary military appointments

 
The Princess Royal passes behind the Princess Anne Banner at a parade for the 75th anniversary of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals

Like other senior royals, The Princess Royal holds a number of honorary appointments in the British Armed Forces and those of several Commonwealth Realms. In 2002, she made history by being the first non-reigning woman to wear military uniform at a funeral, when she wore a Royal Navy uniform at the funeral of her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

She is of the following regiments, corps, and branches:

British

Commonwealth

Arms

File:Princess Anne arms.png
The Princess Anne's arms

File:PAPR standard.gif
The Princess Anne's standard

Ancestry

Princess Anne's ancestors in three generations
Anne, Princess Royal Father:
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 		Paternal Grandfather:
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark 		Paternal Great-grandfather:
George I of Greece
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Olga Konstantinovna of Russia
Paternal Grandmother:
Princess Alice of Battenberg 		Paternal Great-grandfather:
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
Mother:
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 		Maternal Grandfather:
George VI of the United Kingdom 		Maternal Great-grandfather:
George V of the United Kingdom
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Mary of Teck
Maternal Grandmother:
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 		Maternal Great-grandfather:
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne

References

  1. ^ As a titled royal, Anne does not hold, nor ever has held, a surname, but, when required, her maiden name is Mountbatten-Windsor
  2. ^ Daily Express, 21 August 2006
  3. ^ Daily Express, 21 August 2006
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/20/newsid_2524000/2524489.stm
  5. ^ http://www.theage.com.au/news/People/Kidnap-the-Princess-Not-bloody-likely/2005/01/01/1104345033974.html
  6. ^ Daily Express, 21 August 2006
  7. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4139187.stm
  8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/20/newsid_2524000/2524489.stm
  9. ^ Daily Express, 21 August 2006
  10. ^ Daily Express, 21 August 2006
  11. ^ 2005 Papua New Guinea visit
  12. ^ Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Bulletin November 2003
  13. ^ VAC article, 05 June 2004
 
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British royalty
Preceded by Line of succession to the British throne Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Ladies Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by BBC Sports Personality of the Year
1971 		Succeeded by
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