Princess Anne jokes that it’s a ‘miracle she’s still alive’
Princess Anne remains a crucially important member of the Royal Family 50 years after she started carrying out royal duties, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said. Her tireless work ethic and commitment to the Crown are one of a kind and will be extremely valuable within the New Firm.
Mr Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: “The Princess Royal has a record of consistent excellence in the way she carries out her duties.
“She also continues to be an expert on equine matters.
“She summed her role up in a recent documentary celebrating her 70th birthday saying ‘sitting still doesn’t happen very much’.
“Too right it doesn’t. She is usually top in the annual list of royal engagements carried out and is attached to some 300 organisations.
Princess Anne is a crucial member of the Royal Family – expert (Image: GETTY)
Princess Anne and Prince Charles carried out more than 500 engagements each in 2019 (Image: GETTY)
“Her work for Save the Children is truly remarkable, it has been a 50-year stint, which has earned her widespread popular approval.
“There are now fewer senior working royals and this level of commitment is extremely valuable to the Royal Family, she is clearly an indispensable member of the new inner circle of royals.”
Princess Anne carried out 507 engagements out of a total of 3,793 in 2017.
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Princess Anne is the Queen’s only daughter (Image: GETTY)
On the following year, her crown of hardest-working royal was taken away by Prince Charles, who attended just a handful more events than her, 521 against 506.
The Princess Royal has continued to work throughout the pandemic, mixing in-person and remote engagements.
On the 50th anniversary of her collaboration with Save the Children UK, Princess Anne appeared on the charity’s Instagram account and read a story part of the Thomas The Tank Engine series.
This video, in which the Princess Royal read the story and showed the beautiful illustrations of the book, concluded the Save With Stories initiative launched by the charity to support youngsters hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Princess Anne with members of the rumoured New Firm at Windsor Castle (Image: GETTY)
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have stepped down as senior royals (Image: GETTY)
Princess Anne is one of the seven royals said to be part of the New Firm, a streamlined version of the Royal Family which insiders said has been approved by the Queen.
The fine details of the New Firm are still to be defined, but one insider said royals are keen to hit the ground running as soon as possible to make up for the time lost during the national lockdowns and since the departure of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
A royal source told the Daily Mirror: “The family are united in exploring the possibilities in working with each other to highlight the causes dear to their hearts, helping each other and the country at the same time.
“They are working on opportunities for next year and beyond already.
“As soon as they are able it will be all hands on deck to make up for lost time.
Princess Anne is one of the hardest-working members of the Royal Family (Image: EXPRESS)
“The Queen has often said they ‘need to be seen to be believed’ – this is coming from the very top.”
According to insiders, the monarch would be supported in her role by her daughter Anne as well as Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the Cambridges and the Wessexes.
Despite being already at the helm of hundreds of organisations which she follows closely, Princess Anne could see her workload increased in March, after the review of the so-called Megxit deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Harry relinquished his three military patronages upon stepping down as senior royal last year, but these vacancies will only be filled after the Sussexes and the Queen reconvene on their agreement as announced last February.
Princess Anne taking part in the Save with Stories initiative (Image: SAVE THE CHILDREN UK)
Princess Anne has been tipped last year as the possible next Captain-General of the Royal Marines, an honorary title passed on in 2017 to Prince Harry by Prince Philip.
Mr Fitzwilliams noted: “There has been considerable speculation over the future of Harry’s military links when the Sandringham Agreement with the Queen is reassessed by the end of March.
“Many feel that the princess would be the ideal successor to Prince Philip as Captain General Royal Marines, but the matter is yet to be decided and the posts have been kept open.”
Princess Anne is already associated with 65 military organisations.
If appointed as Captain-General, she would become the first woman to cover this role.
