London: Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, Princess Anne rarely lets her emotions show, but grief is etched on her face after her mother’s death. As her older brother King Charles III is called to London, it was left to the Queen’s second child to escort the group through Scotland from Balmoral on Sunday. Dressed in mourning black, she watched as eight soldiers carried the heavy lead-lined coffin into the monarch’s official Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh. Sophie’s sister-in-law, who is married to her younger brother Prince Edward, was seen putting a comforting hand on her back afterwards. On Monday, Anne, 72, dressed in the ceremonial uniform of a Royal Navy admiral, walked alongside Charles, Edward and their brother Andrew as the coffin was carried from Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral. He will also accompany the Queen’s coffin on the flight back to London from Edinburgh on Tuesday. Anne’s role may now change depending on whether Charles pursues a limited monarchy. But he may find his closest sibling a rock of support as he adjusts to his new role. Learning the hard way Anne has earned a reputation as the hardest working royal, juggling a career as an Olympic equestrian alongside a lifetime of public engagements. Anne is said to have once described herself as “not everyone’s idea of a fairy tale princess”. “You learn the hard way,” he said. “There is no school for royalty.” He never tried to please the press, saying he didn’t “do stunts” and once told photographers to “snap out of it.” Anne has carved her own path through the ancient rights of her parents and embraced more modern ways for her own children. She has also won respect for her work supporting hundreds of charities and organisations. In 1974, she was the target of a kidnapping attempt when her car was ambushed. Two policemen, her driver and a bystander were shot and wounded. An account released by the National Archives said attacker Ian Ball pointed his gun at Anne and said: “I want you to come with me for a day or two because I want £2 million. “Will you get out of the car?” The princess snapped back: “Not likely – and I haven’t got £2 million.” Anne stuck to a mix of classic chic and casual, maintaining her voluminous, up-do throughout her adult life. She adopted a business-like demeanor that sometimes meant she came across as cold and resulted in her sharp, dry humor often being misplaced. A gifted horseman Born on August 15, 1950, Anne was educated at Buckingham Palace before starting boarding school in 1963. Inheriting her mother’s passion for horses, the young princess became a skilled rider. Anne won the 1971 European Eventing Championships and was voted that year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year by the British public. “I definitely saw it as a way to prove that you had something that wasn’t dependent on your family and it was up to you to succeed or fail,” she said of her riding career. She married equestrian Mark Phillips in 1972. The wedding was an international event watched by an estimated 500 million people. Anne represented Britain at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, returning without a medal after a particularly nasty fall — memorable for the television viewers, though not for her. Stroked, she mounted her horse again, but had no recollection of racing. He joined the International Olympic Committee in 1988 and was on the organizing committee of the London 2012 Games. Anna and her first army officer husband had two children — sports event manager Peter and equestrian Zara. Breaking with tradition, the couple decided that Phillips should not accept a title so that their children would be free to define their own lives. Zara, who is married to former England rugby captain Mike Tindall, would follow her parents to the Olympics, winning silver in the team event in London 2012. Divorce and remarriage Anna was given the title of Princess Royal, traditionally given to the monarch’s eldest daughter, in 1987. Two years later, she separated from Phillips and the couple divorced in 1992. Nine months later, Anne married sea captain Timothy Laurence, a former lover of Queen Elizabeth. They married in Scotland as the Church of England did not allow divorcees to remarry. Anne supports more than 300 charities, organizations and military regiments, including an association with Save the Children that has lasted more than 50 years. She regularly tops the charts for conducting the most royal engagements and writes her own speeches. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
