Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born at Buckingham Palace on August 15, 1950, the second child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip Mountbatten. She was educated in a small private class at Buckingham Palace until 1963, when she joined Benenden School, a boarding school in Kent.

Princess Anne began to undertake public engagements alone when she was eighteen. She flew her personal standard for the first time in 1969 when she opened an education and training center in Shropshire. Her first state visit was in May of 1969, when she accompanied her mother and father to Austria. She received the title Princess Royal from The Queen in June 1987.

Her Current Interests

The Princess has been president of the Save the Children Fund since 1970, and also serves as president of the Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief. She is president or patron of some 222 organizations. In 1981, she succeeded her grandmother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, as Chancellor of London University.

When not occupied with her many charitable or state interests, Princess Anne is an avid horsewoman. In September 1971, she won the individual European Three-Day Event at Burghley, and was nominated Sportswoman of the Year by the Sports Writers' Association, the Daily Express newspaper and World Sport. She was also voted the BBC's Sports Personality of 1971. In 1973, the Princess was a member of the British team in the European Three-Day Event Championships at Kiev. Two years later, in the same contest in Germany, she won silver medals as an individual competitor and as a team member. She also competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games as a member of the British Three-Day Event team. In 1986, Princess Anne succeeded her father as president of the International Equestrian Federation, a post which she has since relinquished. After five years as president of the British Olympic Association, she was elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1988. She is also president of the Riding for the Disabled Association.

Her Family

Princess Anne married Lieutenant (later Captain) Mark Phillips of The Queen's Dragoon Guards on November 14, 1973. Her first child, Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, was born on November 15, 1977. Her second child, Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, was born on May 15, 1981. The marriage was dissolved in April 1992, and on December 12 the same year the Princess Royal married Captain Timothy Laurence, Royal Navy. No children have been born to this union.

wedding of Princess Anne and Lt. Mark Phillips

Princess Anne and Captain Phillips leave the hospital with their first child, Peter Mark Andrew

Princess Anne with Peter and Zara

See Also

Queen Elizabeth II

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This page was last updated on January 30, 2019.