She is the rock of the British monarchy. It is all the more irritating when she is thrown off course. Princess Anne was recently knocked out in an accident on her Gatcombe Park estate, and there is even talk of memory loss. But challenges from the royal family’s past show that Queen Elizabeth’s daughter has already overcome a number of stumbling blocks.
She is diligent in her service, represents the crown with dignity and an unshakable sense of tradition. Princess Anne, 73, is the backbone of the monarchy alongside her brother King Charles, 75. The royal is considered tough – although, or perhaps because, life has put her to the test on several occasions.
She is currently facing another challenge: On Sunday, June 23, 2024, she was injured in an incident with a horse, suffering “minor injuries and a concussion,” according to a statement from the palace. She could no longer remember the details, a report in the Daily Mail said a day later. However, the court is certain that Anne is “expected to make a quick and full recovery.”
As the saying goes: “Weeds never die”, or to put it more charmingly: The strong Anne will overcome this hurdle too. After all, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth, †96, has already shown a talent for surviving difficult phases in life unscathed.
5 tangible challenges that put Princess Anne to the test
The near-kidnapping
This unbelievable incident from 1974 is the best lesson in assessing Princess Anne’s character. On the evening of March 20, as the then 23-year-old royal was driving along London’s boulevard The Mall with her then husband Mark Phillips, 75, in their limousine on the way to Buckingham Palace, a white Ford Escort suddenly overtook them and brought the couple’s vehicle to a stop.
An armed man got out of the car and asked the royal highness to “come with me for a day or two”. His noble plan: he wanted 2 million pounds from the Royal Family [heute rund 3,6 Millionen Euro] to blackmail her for her release. Anne remained cool and replied that it was “damn unlikely and I don’t have 2 million pounds.” Outraged, she is said to have shouted: “Go away, you silly man.” A brave but also incredibly naive and dangerous counterattack. Because the would-be kidnapper was not to be trifled with. He shot at the monarch’s daughter’s bodyguard, the chauffeur, a policeman and a journalist who happened to witness the incident from a taxi and tried to intervene courageously.
© Evening Standard / Getty Images
During the ensuing struggle with his potential kidnapping victim, the perpetrator was in for a surprise when boxer Ronnie Russel knocked him down with two well-aimed punches and was able to hand him over to the authorities. Anne and Mark escaped with just a huge fright.
The broken vertebra
The latest incident involving a horse was not the first of its kind. The 1971 European equestrian champion was unconscious when one of her favorite animals fell on her at the Portman Horse Trials in Dorset five years later. She suffered bruises, a concussion and a hairline fracture in her vertebrae.
Princess Anne enjoyed worldwide success as a professional rider. In 1976, however, she learned the hard way that not everything can always go smoothly.
© Derek Hudson / Getty Images
The then 25-year-old had to stay in hospital for four days. Anne was lucky: her injuries were not so serious that they could have prevented her from taking part in the Olympic Games in Montreal that same year.
The divorce
Divorces in the British royal family? Rather unusual. Well, at least until the late Queen’s generation. Her children, however, ushered in a new era. In 1992, three of her offspring were faced with the ruins of their marriages. Prince Charles, 75, and Princess Diana, †36, declared their relationship a failure after many unhappy years together following the so-called “Camilla Gate”. The forbidden love of the then heir to the throne with his current wife Queen Camilla, 756, caused a scandal par excellence. Prince Andrew, 63, and Sarah Ferguson, 63, had already made their separation public in March – and Anne also left her husband Mark after 19 years of marriage, who, like her, had allegedly always sought comfort in other people’s arms. Living proof: his daughter Felicity, 38, with art teacher Heather Tonkin, who was born in New Zealand in August 1985.
Their passion for horses united them, but their marriage lacked fire: Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips separated after several affairs in 1992.
© Leonard Burt / Getty Images
The stolen love letters
But it was not only Mark Phillips’ extramarital activities that came to light. Three years before the Queen’s daughter separated from her husband, love letters emerged from the Princess Royal and her mother’s aide-de-camp, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, 69, appeared in the editorial office of the British tabloid newspaper “The Sun”. The apparently stolen documents of the secret liaison were apparently stolen and sent anonymously to the paper, but were never published.
Nevertheless, the incident caused such a stir that the palace had to comment on it in a statement: “The stolen letters were addressed to the Princess Royal by Commander Timothy Laurence, The Queen’s Equerry. We cannot comment on the contents of the personal letters sent to Her Royal Highness by a friend, which were stolen and are the subject of a police investigation.”
Before Sir Timothy Laurence and the Princess Royal were finally allowed to say “I do” to each other shortly after Anne’s divorce from ex Mark, stolen love letters from the Queen’s daughter to her lover caused a small palace earthquake.
© EPA / Getty Images
Anne married Timothy Laurence in Crathie Kirk, Scotland, in December 1992, shortly after her divorce from Mark.
The guilty verdict
In 2002, the Princess gave the Royal Family a rather dubious first: she was the first member of the royal family to be convicted of a crime. She was legally accused of keeping a dog in a dangerous manner out of control under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
In 2002, Anne celebrated a dubious premiere as the first member of the British royal family to appear in court.
© Gerry Penny / Getty Images
Anne pleaded guilty and was fined £500 [heute etwa 590 Euro] sentenced.
Sources used: dailymail.co.uk, hellomagazine.com, thesun.co.uk