Princess Anne is known for getting on with the job, and now the Queen has publicly praised her second child for the mammoth amount of public engagements she takes on.
WATCH Princess Anne helps the Queen on a Zoom call
The Princess Royal, 70, recently crammed 12 royal events into just four days, taking her from the counties Sussex and Hampshire in England’s south, to Norfolk in its north-east, where she represented her mother, meeting a raft of volunteers and other workers.
When the Queen’s official Twitter account highlighted her gargantuan effort, fans flocked to the comments to say, “So many engagements! Amazing!” while another said, “So good to see her back to work and undertaking her usual busy schedule.” Hear, hear!
A palace insider says, “Anne had only just buried her beloved father [Prince Philip], and Harry and Meghan were causing all sorts of fuss. So she did what she does best – get to work supporting her mother, just as her father would’ve expected of her.
She might be 70 but she’s full of energy and not considering retirement. As far as the princess is concerned, she intends to perform a lifetime of service.”
A royal expert earlier this year revealed that there are even members of Princess Anne’s own family who believe the no-nonsense royal would be a far better monarch than her brother Charles.
“Princess Anne has probably been the hardest working royal for the last 40 years. If the succession laws were different when she was born, Princess Anne would be much higher up the pecking order,” says royal biographer Phil Dampier.
“Certainly she is Prince Philip’s favourite child and I think he feels she would be a better queen than Charles [will] a king.”
As a result, it’s accepted that while Anne won’t head the royal family in name, behind the scenes her influence and decisions will become increasingly important.
And with Prince Charles preparing for the moment when he becomes monarch, there’s no doubt he’ll be calling on Anne to support and advise him.
Famously, when Anne was born on August 15, 1950, the Duke of Edinburgh announced to waiting courtiers, “It’s the sweetest girl”.
Now, 70 years on, Anne is famed for her hard work, no-nonsense personality and low-key but dedicated approach to carrying out her duties.
