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Background
Education Activities and interests Horsemanship Marriage and family Honours BackgroundThe Princess Royal, the second child and only daughter of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Clarence House, London, on 15 August 1950, when her mother was Princess Elizabeth, heir presumptive to the throne. She was baptised Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise at Buckingham Palace on 21 October. She received the title Princess Royal from The Queen in June 1987; until then she was known as Princess Anne.EducationThe Princess started her education in a small private class held at Buckingham Palace, where The Queen had moved with her family shortly after her accession. In 1962 Her Royal Highness made a private educational visit to France, and the following year she joined Benenden School, a boarding school in Kent.Activities and interestsThe Princess began to undertake public engagements alone when she was eighteen. She flew her personal standard for the first time in 1969 when she opened an education and training centre in Shropshire. Her first State Visit was in May the same year, when she accompanied her mother and father to Austria.The Princess Royal's work with the Save the Children Fund, of which she has been President since 1970, has given her great insight into the needs of children worldwide. She has travelled extensively with the Fund in many parts of the world. She also serves as President of the Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief. The Princess Royal is President or Patron of some 222 organisations. She is also Commandant-in-Chief of the St John Ambulance Brigade, Colonel-in-Chief of The King's Royal Hussars, Royal Corps of Signals, The Royal Scots, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, and The 8th Canadian Hussars, Chief Commandant for women in the Royal Navy and Commandant-in-Chief of The Women's Transport Service (FANY). She succeeded her grandmother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, as Chancellor of London University in 1981. In 1996 she carried out 514 engagements in the United Kingdom and 95 overseas. HorsemanshipFrom her early days riding was the Princess's great passion, and she soon proved herself an expert horsewoman. She regularly took part in the Horse of the Year Show at Wembley and the Badminton Horse Trials. In September 1971 she won the individual European Three-Day Event at Burghley, and was nominated Sportswoman of the Year by the Sports Writers' Association, the Daily Express newspaper and World Sport (the journal of the British Olympic Association). She was also voted the BBC's Sports Personality of 1971.In 1973 The Princess was a member of the British team in the European Three-Day Event Championships at Kiev in the Soviet Union. Two years later, in the same contest in Germany, she won silver medals as an individual competitor and as a team member. The Princess also competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games as a member of the British Three-Day Event team. In 1986 The Princess Royal succeeded her father as President of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). After five years as President of the British Olympic Association she was elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1988. She is also President of the Riding for the Disabled Association. Marriage and familyThe engagement of The Princess Royal to Lieutenant (later Captain) Mark Phillips of The Queen's Dragoon Guards was announced on 29 May 1973, and they were married in Westminster Abbey on 14 November 1973. The marriage was dissolved in April 1992 and on 12 December the same year The Princess Royal married Captain Timothy Laurence, Royal Navy, at a private ceremony at Craithie Church, near Balmoral Castle in Scotland.The Princess's first child was born on 15 November 1977 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. He was christened Peter Mark Andrew Phillips at a service conducted in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 22 December 1977. The Princess's second child was born on 15 May 1981, also at St Mary's Hospital. She was christened Zara Anne Elizabeth at a service conducted in the Chapel at Windsor Castle by the Dean of Windsor on 27 July 1981. The family lives at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire. HonoursIn 1987 The Princess Royal was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1994 The Queen appointed The Princess a Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. |
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