Buckingham Palace has paid a warm tribute to the Princess Royal as she approaches her 75th birthday on August 15, celebrating a lifetime of service, adventure and remarkable “firsts”.
In a special Instagram post titled The Princess Royal Edition, the royal family shared a gallery of photographs spanning Anne’s extraordinary career, alongside some of her most notable milestones.
Born Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice at Clarence House on August 15, 1950 (on VJ Day), she joined the first Buckingham Palace Company of Brownies and Guides in 1959, continuing a tradition her mother, then Princess Elizabeth, began. From there, she forged her own path, making history as the first British royal to compete in the Olympic Games, riding for Team GB at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Her humanitarian work has been just as trailblazing. In 1990, Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda nominated her for a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her two decades as president of Save the Children. Four years later, she became a Royal Knight of the Order of the Garter, by her own request.
Anne’s spirit of fun and fearlessness has also taken her from the saddle to the small screen, becoming the first royal to appear on a television quiz show when she competed on the BBC’s A Question of Sport. She even holds an HGV licence, has driven a double-decker bus and a police car, and serves as Colonel-in-Chief of more than 20 regiments.
Her royal diary is equally impressive: patron of more than 399 charities and organisations, she has completed 562 overseas visits, touching every continent. She has also been a proud patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986, and her love for sport is often matched with her signature Team GB sunglasses, famously worn at the London 2012 Olympics.
As she turns 75, Princess Anne’s legacy shines as brightly as her energy – a life lived at full gallop, marked by service, curiosity and the joy of saying “yes” to new challenges.
Images: Instagram
