Princess Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third (behind her mother and elder brother) and rose to second (after her mother's accession) in the line of succession to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms; however, after the birth of two younger brothers and six nieces and nephews she is currently tenth in line.
The seventh holder of the title Princess Royal, Anne is known for her charitable work, being the patron of over 200 organisations, and she carries out about 700 royal engagements and public appearances per year. She is also known for equestrian talents; she won two silver and one gold medal at the European Eventing Championships, and is the only member of the British Royal Family to have competed in the Olympic Games. Currently married to Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence, she has two children from her previous marriage to Mark Phillips and one granddaughter.
Early Life and Education[]
Anne was born at Clarence House on 15 August 1950, the second child and only daughter of then Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and second grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950, by then Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett, the Princess's godparents were: the Queen (her maternal grandmother); the Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (her paternal aunt); Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark (her paternal grandmother); VAdm the Earl Mountbatten of Burma (her paternal granduncle); and the Hon. and Rev. Andrew Elphinstone (her cousin).By letters patent of Anne's great-grandfather, King George V, the titles of a British prince or princess, and the style Royal Highness, were only to be conferred on children and male-line grandchildren of the sovereign, as well as the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. However, on 22 October 1948, George VI issued new letters patent granting these honours to any children of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip; otherwise, Anne would merely have been titled by courtesy as Lady Anne Mountbatten. In this way, the children of the heiress presumptive had a Royal and Princely status.
As with royal children before her, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed to look after the Princess and was responsible for her early education at Buckingham Palace; Peebles had also served as governess for Anne's older brother, Charles. When Anne's mother acceded after the death of George VI to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II, Anne was thereafter titled as Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne, but, given her young age at the time, did not attend her mother's coronation.
A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company including the Holy Trinity Brompton Brownie pack, was reformed in May 1959, specifically so that, like her mother, Anne could socialise with girls her own age. The Princess Royal was active until 1963, when she went to boarding school. Anne remained under private tutelage until she was enrolled at Benenden School in 1963, leaving five years later with six O-Levels and two A-Levels. Anne's first boyfriend was Andrew Parker Bowles.
First Marriage[]
On Wednesday, 14 November 1973 (her brother Prince Charles's 25th birthday), Princess Anne married Mark Phillips, then a Lieutenant in the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, at Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony that was televised around the world, with an estimated audience of 100 million. Following the wedding, Anne and her husband lived at Gatcombe Park. By 1989, however, the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate, as the marriage had been under strain for a number of years. The couple divorced on 23 April 1992.
It was believed that the Queen had offered Phillips an earldom on his wedding day, as was customary for untitled men marrying into the Royal Family. However, Phillips did not accept the offer. The couple had two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips, and so, unusually for the grandchildren of a monarch, they have no title. (However, they are not currently the only children of a British Princess to carry no title: the children of Princess Alexandra, the Queen's cousin, are also untitled.)
On 29 December 2010, The Princess Royal became a grandmother when a baby girl was born to her son Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn. The baby girl, Savannah, is the first grandchild of The Princess Royal and the first great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II.
Kindnapping Attempt[]
As Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace on 20 March 1974, from a charity event on Pall Mall, their Princess IV limousine was forced to stop by a Ford Escort. The driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a gun. Inspector James Beaton, the Princess's personal police officer, responded by exiting the limousine in order to shield the Princess and try to disarm Ball. Beaton's firearm, a Walther PPK, jammed, and he was shot by the assailant, as was Anne's chauffeur, Alex Callender, when he tried to disarm Ball. Brian McConnell, a nearby tabloid journalist, also intervened, and was shot in the chest. Ball approached the Royal's car and told Anne of his kidnapping plan, which was to hold the Princess for ransom, the sum given by varying sources as £2 million or £3 million, which he intended to give to the National Health Service. Ball then directed Anne to get out of the car, to which she replied: "Not bloody likely!", and briefly considered hitting Ball. Eventually, she dove out the other side of the limousine and another passing pedestrian, Ron Russell, punched Ball in the back of the head and then led Anne away from the scene. At that point, Police Constable Michael Hills happened upon the situation; he too was shot by Ball, but not before he called for police backup. Detective Constable Peter Edmonds, who had been nearby, answered and gave chase, finally arresting Ball.
All of the victims were hospitalised, and recovered from their wounds. For his defence of Princess Anne, Beaton was awarded the George Cross, Hills and Russell were awarded the George Medal, and Callender, McConnell and Edmonds were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal. Ball pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping, and was detained under the Mental Health Act.
The incident was the closest in modern times that any individual has come to kidnapping a member of the Royal Family, and prompted higher security levels for the Royals. It also served as the focus of the 2006 Granada Television produced docu-drama, To Kidnap a Princess, and inspired story lines in the Tom Clancy novel Patriot Games and the Antonia Fraser novel Your Royal Hostage.
Second Marriage[]
Anne married Timothy Laurence, then a commander in the Royal Navy, at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral Castle, on 12 December 1992. The couple chose to marry in Scotland as the Church of England did not allow divorced persons to remarry in its churches, while the Church of Scotland did. In participating in this ceremony, Anne became the first Royal divorcée to remarry since Victoria, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, did so in 1905. Like Phillips before him, Laurence received no peerage, and the couple leased a flat in Dolphin Square, London. They later gave up this city home and now reside between an apartment at Buckingham Palace and Gatcombe Park. Anne has no children with Laurence.
Criminal Record[]
The Princess Royal faced court charges in March 2001, when she pleaded guilty to driving at 150 km/h (93 mph) on a dual carriageway, while on her way to Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. She was fined £400 by Cheltenham Magistrate's Court, and had five points added to her driving licence. The following year, she was convicted of a second offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 after she pleaded guilty to the charge that her dog, Dotty, attacked two boys while she and Laurence were taking the dog for a walk in Windsor Great Park. The Princess was fined £500 by Berkshire Magistrates' Court and ordered to give Dotty more training.
Elected Empress[]
In April 2011, Princess Anne was elected by UP officals to become the first Head of State of the United Provinces. Due to the popular majority of people electing her, she accepted the proposal. On 31 May 2011, when the United Provinces was officially declared independent, the Princess became Her Imperial Majesty Empress Anne I.
Styles and Titles[]
15 August 1950 – 6 February 1952: Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh 6 February 1952 – 14 November 1973: Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne 14 November 1973 – 13 June 1987: Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne, Mrs Mark Phillips 13 June 1987 – : Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal 31 May 2011 -: Her Imperial Majesty Empress Anne I