She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King Charles III.

Anne was born third in the line of succession to the British throne and is now 18th,[2][b] and has been, since 1987, Princess Royal, a title held for life.

[3][4][5] Born at Clarence House, Anne was educated at Benenden School and began undertaking royal duties upon reaching adulthood.

Within months of her divorce in 1992, Anne married Commander (later Vice Admiral) Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mother's equerry between 1986 and 1989.

Anne was born at 11:50 a.m. BST on 15 August 1950 at Clarence House[10] during the reign of her maternal grandfather, King George VI.

[21] At age 21, she won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship with her home-bred horse Doublet[22] and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971.

[23] She also rode winners in horse racing, competing in the Grand Military Steeplechase at Sandown Park Racecourse and the Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot.

[25] The following year, she participated in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a member of the British team, riding the Queen's horse, Goodwill, in Eventing.

[7] Anne suffered a concussion halfway through the course but remounted and finished the event; she has stated she cannot remember making the rest of the jumps.

[29] On 5 February 1987, she became the first member of the royal family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz show when she competed on the BBC panel game A Question of Sport.

[30] In June 2024, Anne was taken to Southmead Hospital with minor injuries and concussion believed to be caused by impact with a horse's legs or head.

[31] Anne met Mark Phillips, a lieutenant in the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, in 1968 at a party for horse lovers.

As was customary for untitled men marrying into the royal family, Phillips was offered an earldom, which he declined;[36] consequently their children were born without titles.

On 31 August 1989, Anne and Phillips announced their intention to separate; the couple had been rarely seen in public together and both were romantically linked with other people.

Inspector James Beaton, Anne's personal protection officer, exited the car to shield her and to try to disarm Ball.

[74] In 1990 she became the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to the Soviet Union when she went there as a guest of President Mikhail Gorbachev and his government.

[73][75] In August 2016, she returned to Russia to visit the city of Arkhangelsk for the 75th anniversary of Operation Dervish, which was one of the first Arctic convoys of World War II.

[79][80] On 12 September 2022, in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Anne became the first woman to participate in a Vigil of the Princes, guarding her mother's coffin.

[84] Anne has visited the organisation's projects in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[110] She is also the royal patron of WISE, an organisation that encourages young women to pursue careers in science, engineering and construction.

[132] Anne has been called the royal family's "trustiest anchor" and a "beacon of good, old-fashioned public service", having carried out more than 20,000 engagements since her 18th birthday.

[135] Vanity Fair wrote that Anne "has a reputation for having inherited her father's famously sharp tongue and waspish wit".

[139][140][141] Telegraph editor Camilla Tominey called her a "national treasure", writing that she is "hailed as one of the great English eccentrics", whose work ethic contributes to her regard.

[133] Reportedly, Anne "insists on doing her own make-up and hair" and drives herself to engagements, having pleaded guilty to two separate speeding fines on account of being late.

[133] Her reputation is also coupled with her advocacy for causes out of the mainstream, such as Wetwheels Foundation's commitment to accessible sailing and the National Lighthouse Museum.

[133] On her 60th and 70th birthdays, the BBC and Vanity Fair both asked whether she would retire, and she denied it both times, citing her parents' example as well as her commitment to her royal duties.

[135] Anne's public personality has been described as "not suffering fools lightly" while maintaining a "still-impressive level of grace and courtesy".

[143][144] British Vogue editor Edward Enninful has said that "Princess Anne is a true style icon and was all about sustainable fashion before the rest of us really knew what that meant".

[135] Her style has been noted for its timelessness; she relies almost solely on British fashion brands, with tweed and tailored suits as her hallmarks.

The previous holder was King George V's daughter, Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, Anne's great-aunt.