Princess Anne quietly goes about her business, supporting hundreds of patronages and trekking up and down the country and across the world. She’s regularly undertaken more engagements in a year than any other royal and yet so much of what the Princess Royal does doesn’t end up splashed across the front pages.
Last year the 75-year-old said retiring wasn’t an “option” and her dedication has been noted by royal correspondent and author Katie Nicholl. The expert has been quoted as saying categorically that “Anne is the backbone of the family”.
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More specifically, the royal correspondent admires how the Princess hasn’t overshadowed her brother, King Charles. Instead, she’s been his constant supporter.
“One of her biggest successes is that she’s never tried to overshadow Charles,” Katie said. “She has always just been there by his side as a pillar of strength, and she’s like a hybrid of Elizabeth and Prince Philip in being no-fuss, not overly emotional and just getting on with the job.”
Brother and sister have been close all their lives, but King Charles was always higher in the royal line of succession and Princess Anne has never been interested in the glamorous press-oriented side of royal life. Her duty is to support the monarchy and His Majesty’s trust in her as his “pillar of strength” couldn’t be clearer.
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One of his first major acts as King was to request a change in legislation to include Princess Anne and Prince Edward as people who could be called upon to act as Counsellors of State. Until then, it was only the monarch’s spouse and the first four royals in line to the throne over the age of 21 who could act on his behalf if he was abroad or unwell.
Since then, she’s continued to be a consistent royal presence, including throughout the challenging past few years following King Charles and the Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnoses.
Whilst Kate confirmed she was in remission in 2025, His Majesty shared a health update in December, saying that “thanks to early diagnosis, effective interventions and adherence to ‘doctors’ orders’, [his] own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the New Year.”
(Image credit: Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Princess Anne’s position as “backbone” of the Royal Family has likely never been so important or appreciated, both personally and professionally by the King. It’s perhaps no surprise either that Katie views her approach as a mixture of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, as Anne has previously revealed she follows their example.
“It’s not just about, ‘Can I get a tick in the box for doing this?’ No, it’s about serving…. It comes from an example from both my parents’ way of working and where they saw their role being. I mean, my father served. It was a more direct form of service, I suppose you could argue,” she said. “And the Queen’s has been a lifelong service in a slightly different way.”