Anne, Princess Royal, Marks Her 73rd Birthday Following Busy Year Of Royal Engagements

Aug 15, 2023 by apost team

Princess Anne is celebrating her 73rd birthday on Aug. 15, 2023. After Prince Philip’s passing in April 2021, the Princess Royal has accompanied her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on various royal tours. Sadly, Elizabeth later passed on Sept. 8, 2022, impacting the royal family’s structure once again. As the dynamics in the royal family shifted, Anne proved to be a vital member of the family. 

Married to Mark Phillips on Nov. 14, 1973, at Westminster Abbey, Anne looked stunning in a classic long-sleeved gown that was very fitting for the era. Described by the BBC as "an embroidered Tudor-style wedding dress with a high collar and medieval sleeves,” the dress was topped off by the Queen Mary Diamond Fringe tiara, which was worn by her mother on her wedding day, and also by Princess Beatrice on hers.

Before they divorced in April 1992, Anne and Phillips had two children together: Peter Phillips, born in 1977, and Zara Phillips, born in 1981. Anne is now a mother of five grandchildren.

Following the breakup of her first marriage, Anne was lucky to find love a second time, marrying Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence at Crathie Kirk in Scotland on Dec. 12, 1992. Dressed much more understated for this wedding, Anne looked smart in a mid-sleeved dress and long white gloves accented with gold jewelry.

As an important senior member of the royal family, it’s not surprising that many people have been intrigued by the Princess Royal’s life. In fact, a character based on the queen’s only daughter was featured in the series “The Crown.”

Anne has certainly lived an eventful life already and deserves a grand celebration for her birthday. Read on to learn more about the Princess Royal.

The life of Princess Anne is surely one of intrigue. According to Royal UK, she is the seventh Princess Royal in the British Monarchy, as she was first given the title in June 1987. According to the outlet, the title is “traditionally carried by the monarch’s oldest daughter and held for life.”

From the styling to portraying the everyday life as well as the manners and characteristics of the Princess Royal, “The Crown” sought to showcase as much of Anne’s life as possible. While some people certainly would be interested in learning more about the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, there is a lot more that goes into being such a substantial figure in the royal family than just a title.

According to Now To Love, style is important to Anne, but not necessarily in the traditional sense. She explained:

“(Likewise) the queen and I had a discussion the other day about the difference between fashion and style and I think maybe that’s relevant in the sense that she didn’t do fashion but she certainly does style, and style tends to last longer. You have an individual style and it’s a quality which has a long-term value.”

While the Princess Royal looks the part of royalty, she has had some less than fairytale-like experiences. Something many people may not know about Anne is that she was almost kidnapped. According to People, there was an attempted kidnapping of the princess on March 20, 1974. The attack happened just a few months after she married her first husband.

It’s clear that Anne has had a very eventful life. According to Vanity Fair, Anne admitted to jam-packing her itinerary and said that her idea of retirement is not necessarily as traditional as people may think.

apost.com

In December 2021, the Daily Mail reported that Anne had been named that year’s hardest-working royal family member. She took on 387 official engagements. Back in 2019, Anne had also taken on hundreds of engagements, which showed that the Princess Royal was adjusting well to the added workload following her father’s passing. 

According to Royal UK, Anne’s first public royal engagement was in 1969 when she was 18. She opened an educational and training center in Shropshire, which is located in the West Midlands of England.

PEOPLE also reported that Anne is involved with over 300 charities and organizations. 

When Elizabeth became sick, Anne stepped up. As well as sounding the alarm to her siblings that their mother was in her final stages, the Mirror reported that Anne was believed to have been selected by Elizabeth herself "to be her companion for this final journey," from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Upon arriving, Anne gave a curtsy to her mother's coffin and was comforted by a hand on the back from another of the queen's favorite senior family members, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

Penny Junor, a royal biographer, spoke of Anne to the Mirror:

“She has never been the show pony, she is not there to promote herself. What she demonstrates is the monarchy is not about glamour or being a glitzy celebrity. She is like her mother in that she has dedicated herself to her role.”

And even though she has been extremely busy, Anne has made sure to take time to celebrate special moments in her life. On the morning of her birthday in 2020, the Instagram page thecrown_uk released new portraits of the princess in honor of her 70th birthday. 

According to the post, the pictures were taken by John Swannell at Anne’s home, Gatcombe Park.‬ In one image, Anne was seen smiling subtly, wearing a Sue Palmer emerald green dress and a gold ribbon knot brooch set with 12 diamonds, according to the Daily Mail.

According to Royal Central, she was promoted to the rank of general in the Army and air chief marshal in the Air Force. The appointments bring her ranks in line in the Army and Air Force with her rank in the Royal Navy.

For the Princess Royal’s 71st birthday, her older brother King Charles III was one of the first of the royals to send her warm wishes. The Clarence House Instagram account shared a throwback photo of the siblings from 1951 looking adorable.

For Anne’s 72nd birthday, several royal family members took to social media to celebrate. The Royal Family page posted, “Wishing The Princess Royal a happy birthday today!” along with a beautiful photo of the Princess Royal. Prince William and Kate Middleton also showed their love for Anne in an online post.

In June 2023, just a few months before her 73rd birthday, Anne visited Germany and wowed everyone with her fluent German, according to the Mirror. She spoke fluent German while she delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the CHIO Equestrian Festival, the world’s largest horse show.

And now, Anne is celebrating her 73rd birthday. For most of August 2023, Anne’s schedule has been free of royal engagements after quite a busy year, according to Woman and Home.

The Princess Royal has accomplished quite a bit over the course of her life, from an almost kidnapping to becoming a very prominent and active senior member of the royal family. We wish her a very happy birthday!

Did you know about Anne, Princess Royal’s life story? Let us know, and be sure to send this to any royal family fan you know!