Princess Anne

Princess Anne (1950- ), the Princess Royal, second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her consort, Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh. Anne’s full name is Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise and she is eighth in line to the British throne. She was educated privately, and at Benenden School, a boarding school in Kent.

Anne has travelled the world as a representative of the British Crown, and has also been involved in numerous charitable concerns. In 1970 she became President of the Save the Children Fund, an organization with which she has been particularly associated. A keen horse rider, Anne has participated in numerous equestrian events. In 1971 she won the individual European three-day event (see Equestrianism) at Burghley and was voted BBC sports personality of the year. She was a member of the British three-day-event team at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. After five years as President of the British Olympic Association, she was elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1988.

In 1973 she married Captain Mark Phillips, a fellow equestrian enthusiast. By him she has two children: Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (1977- ) and Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips (1981- ), who are ninth and tenth respectively in order of succession to the British throne. Anne divorced from her first husband in 1992 and married Commander Timothy Laurence (1955-) the same year. In 1987 she was awarded the special honorary title of Princess Royal (formerly she was simply Princess Anne), as a mark of appreciation for her charitable work. In 1994 she was made a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and in 2000 she was appointed to the Order of the Thistle.