Anne, Princess Royal

HRH The Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor¹) (born August 15, 1950), of the Royal House of Windsor, is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her husband, Prince Philip.

From birth, Anne was known as HRH Princess Anne of Edinburgh. In 1952, her mother inherited the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II, and Anne became known as HRH The Princess Anne of the United Kingdom. The Queen granted her the title the Princess Royal in June 1987, and she became officially styled Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal.

Born at Clarence House[?], London, Anne was educated at a private boarding school, Benenden School[?] in Kent. She married Mark Phillips, an army officer, on November 14, 1973, and had two children, Peter in 1977 and Zara in 1981. Anne and Mark divorced in 1992, and she married Timothy Laurence[?], a naval officer and former member of the Royal Household[?], in December 1992.

Anne is an outstanding horsewoman, who was selected for the British three-day eventing[?] team for the 1975 European championships, winning silver medals both as an individual and as part of the team. She also competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. Her success led to her appointment to the International Olympic Committee as an administrator, where she has reportedly made considerable quiet efforts to fight the corruption in that organisation.

Anne also maintains a heavy schedule of royal engagements and extensive charity work, notably the children's charity Save The Children[?], of which she has been president since 1970. She has for a number of years the most hardworking member of the Royal Family. Once the most unpopular member of the Royal Family in the 1970s (when she earned the nickname Princess Sourpuss), she is now the most popular, widely regarded for her extensive charity work, no-nonsense attitude towards dealing with bureaucrats and her willingness to go anywhere, no matter how disturbing the images she would see, in her campaigning work for African poverty.

In 2002, the Princess Royal become the first member of the royal family to appear in court since King Charles II was charged with treason. 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 and ordered to give more training for Dotty.

See also: British Royal Family

Note

¹The Princess Royal's legal surname is Laurence by her marriage in 1992.

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The 2nd Princess Royal was Anne, Princess of Orange[?].