Princess Anne, born in 1950, was very different from her older brother. From the very beginning she was out-going and gregarious, a bit of a tomboy, with a very determined streak. Her horse-loving mother must have been delighted by her daughter's equestrian flair, and was extremely proud when, in 1971, she won the European Championships at the Three-Day event at Burghley, and was voted "Sportswoman of the Year." In 1976 she competed in the equestrian event at the Olympic Games in Canada.

In November 1973, the Queen - resplendent in sapphire blue - looked on as her daughter was married to Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey. On the day after her fourth wedding anniversary Anne gave birth to a son, Peter, making the Queen a first-time, and very delighted, grandmother. She received the news just minutes before an Investiture ceremony, and was - uncharacteristically - 10 minutes late.

Princess Anne has continued to make her mother proud, carrying out more public engagements than any other member of the royal family. She undertakes more than 500 public engagements each year and is, in spite of her brusque demeanour, one of the more admired members of the Royal Family. As President of Save The Children Fund since 1970, she travels extensively.

Princess Anne was divorced from Mark Phillips in 1992, and later that year married Timothy Laurence, a Commodore of the Royal Navy, at a private ceremony at Crathie Church, near Balmoral, the royal family's Scottish estate.

See portrait of Princess Anne

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