Princess Anne isn't all tiaras and ball gowns.
She's had a rollercoaster existence in the royal family.
Did you know about her attempted kidnapping?
Or her appearance on a TV game show?
Keep watching for the full ride.
You would think that, as the only daughter of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Princess
Anne would bestow every title she could to her own children to carry on royal traditions.
But, in an unusual move, Anne decided not to give either of her children royal titles,
breaking with royal tradition as she did so.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Anne explained why she opted not to give them titles
even though her mother, Queen Elizabeth, could've offered them if so desired.
Anne said,
"I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there
are downsides to having titles.
So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
However, Anne didn't strip away all family traditions, and, like her father and brother,
she sent her children to boarding school from an early age.
She told Vanity Fair she's a firm believer in boarding school and its benefits — so
don't think Anne is completely adverse to royal traditions.
She just has her own opinions.
Everyone and their mother knows Prince Charles is the first in line to the British throne,
and a lot of us who aren't royal experts would naturally assume his younger sister — and
second-born child of Queen Elizabeth — would be second in line.
Well, a strange fact about Anne is that, not only is she not second, third, fourth, or
even fifth in line for the British throne, she is, in fact, 17th in line.
That's right, 16 royal family members are between Queen Elizabeth and Anne in the line
of succession.
Let's break it down.
Charles is followed by his eldest son, Prince William, in the line of succession, who is
then followed by William's three children.
Charles' youngest son, Prince Harry, is next, and then his children fall in line.
So, naturally, you'd think that Anne would slip in here, as would her children.
But that's not how it worked out for Anne, given that she's a woman.
Until the Succession to the Crown Act passed in 2013, female members of the royal family
were displaced by male siblings and relatives.
We were absolutely stunned by this fact, too, but Princess Anne technically has a criminal
record.
Her legal battle includes a dispute involving her dog.
In November 2002, Anne appeared in court, where she was tried for letting her dog run
off leash — the dog, a bull terrier, ultimately attacked two children, whose family pressed
charges.
As a result of the trial, Anne had to pay $785 to the family and was told her dog, Dotty,
would have to stay on leash in all public places for the remainder of its life.
In addition to the money paid to the family, Anne had to pay $390 worth of compensation
and $230 in court fees.
We were absolutely floored when we learned Princess Anne is the survivor of an attempted
kidnapping.
Princess Anne and her husband were on their way back to Buckingham Palace after attending
an event on March 20, 1974.
At about 8 p.m., they were joined by her bodyguard and the driver.
As their car headed toward the palace, another vehicle forced Anne's driver to stop and pull
over.
Then, all hell broke loose.
An armed man lunged toward the vehicle, shooting Anne's bodyguard.
The assailant, Ian Ball, disarmed the bodyguard, then tried to force the door open where the
princess was seated, telling her,
"Please come out.
You've got to come."
"Um, well he said I had to go with him."
Anne, whose dress was subsequently ripped in the struggle, later told police,
"I kept saying I didn't want to get out of the car, and I was not going to get out of
the car."
"We had a fairly low-key discussion about the fact that I wasn't going to go anywhere."
So what exactly did Anne say to Ball when he told her to get out of the car?
"Not bloody likely."
Princess Anne's life isn't all gorgeous jewels and banquets, and, in a strange and surprising
twist, we found out Anne has been an active military member since 1974.
The Princess Royal was the Chief Commandant of the Women's Naval Service until it was
folded into the rest of the Royal Navy and her position was renamed Chief Commandant
of Women in the Royal Navy.
By 2012, Anne had assumed the rank of Admiral and has had five royal naval ships named for
her since.
Given that her father and mother both served in the military, Anne's service makes a lot
of sense, albeit not the typical you'd assume of a princess.
Princess Anne's military service isn't her only accomplishment.
Despite her distance from the throne, Princess Anne is one of the hardest working royals.
As noted by Wales Online, by September 2021, Anne had carried out more royal duties within
the year than any other working member of the family.
Specifically, she had seen through more than 110 royal engagements, which equated to about
106 days of work.
In July 2021 alone, she carried out 25 days' worth of engagements alone.
Her brother and direct heir to the throne, Prince Charles, was behind her with 101 engagements,
as of September 2021.
So why is Anne so dedicated, even though she will never sit on the throne like Charles?
For her, it's all about giving back.
She told Vanity Fair,
"It's not just about, 'Can I get a tick in the box for doing this?'
No, it's about serving.
It comes from an example from both my parents' way of working and where they saw their role
being."
When it comes to privacy, many, if not all, of us want to feel entitled to keeping some
things just that — private.
And, in a strange and violating occurrence, private letters in Princess Anne's possession
were stolen from her and sent to a tabloid in Britain, bringing the princess instantaneous
judgment and pressure.
She was married to Captain Mark Phillips at the time and was already a mom to both Zara
and Peter Phillips, and, despite having been married for 15 years, rumors were circulating
that the royal marriage was cracking at the foundation.
As it turned out, Anne was having an affair with Queen Elizabeth's equerry, Timothy Laurence,
and the confirmation of said affair was only known to Anne's inner circle.
But in April 1989, the letters between Anne and Laurence, who later became her second
husband, were stolen from her possession and sent to The Sun in what can only be described
as a purely exploitative move.
The Sun later confirmed they had the letters in their possession, but decided not to print
them due to their steamy nature, and subsequently handed them over to police.
Raise your hand if you've seen the viral photos of Queen Elizabeth driving her Range Rover
on the royal grounds — we have, and while she definitely looks awesome doing so, she's
not the only royal known for her behavior behind the wheel.
In a surprising twist, we learned Princess Anne is a bit of a reckless driver with the
rap sheet to prove it.
As noted by The Guardian, her documented driving faults date all the way back to 1972, when
she was pulled over for going 90 miles per hour on the M1 highway.
Five years later, she was ticketed for roughly $50 for again going above 96 miles per hour
in a 70 miles per hour zone.
The princess' driving habits certainly didn't cease, despite the tickets.
In 1990, she was fined about $200 and was ultimately banned from driving for a month
after acknowledging she was caught speeding on two separate occasions.
And, yet again, in 2001, Anne was pulled over in her Bentley for driving 93 miles per hour,
23 miles above the speed limit.
She was ultimately fined about $530 and suffered five penalty points on her driver's license.
While the royal family might catch a bit of flak for their immense wealth and work that
sometimes doesn't actually seem like work, it's safe to say that Princess Anne has defined
herself outside the royal norm.
In a slightly strange, but overall awesome, turn of events, Anne became the first member
of the royal family to compete in the Olympic Games, making quite a name for herself in
equestrian sports.
As noted by CBC, Anne competed as a member of the British equestrian team during the
1976 Olympic Games in Canada.
At just 25 years of age, she took part in the cross country course watched by members
of her family, including Queen Elizabeth.
While it was the monarch's ninth visit to the Commonwealth country, it marked significant
importance that year, and she watched as Anne represented her country in more ways than
one.
While she didn't take home a medal during the Games, she certainly shone bright and
brought the royal family onto a brand-new stage.
Anne went on to join the International Olympic Committee in 1988.
It's safe to say that Princess Anne has set herself apart in the royal family.
She didn't give her children royal titles, she's an Olympian, she's one of the hardest
working members of the monarchy, and she has a real no-fuss attitude about her.
But, despite her trailblazing approach to royalty and obvious displays of equality,
she told Vanity Fair she doesn't consider herself a feminist, but she did express her
desire, quote, "to see every young person achieve their full potential."
We're all for the latter sentiment, but something seemed a little strange about the distinction,
especially when you take into account some of the very feminist-inspired actions Anne
has done throughout her royal career.
For example, in 1994, Queen Elizabeth appointed Anne to the Order of the Garter — a historic
order that makes up one of the hundreds of titles you hear attached to the royal family
members.
However, instead of being welcomed as a Lady, Anne insisted on being installed as Royal
Knight of the Order.
That isn't all Anne has done.
In a strange public relations stunt, Princess Anne competed on the BBC panel quiz game "A
Question of Sport" in 1987.
The move not only put the Princess Royal in a totally different environment than where
people were typically used to seeing her, but it also made her the first member of the
royal family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz show.
However strange, the move certainly garnered a lot of attention.
According to The Guardian, an estimated 19 million people tuned in to watch Anne battle
it out on the show's 200th episode.
The appearance reportedly displayed a sense of humor on Anne's part, which no doubt assisted
in boosting her public persona and popularity amongst viewers.
"She's going to clunk me with her bag.
It's Princess John Reid."
When we think about royalty in the movie industry, our thoughts immediately go to the early 2000s
classic The Princess Diaries, starring the lovely Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.
We never actually thought, for whatever odd reason, that real royal family members would
get involved in the movie business, but, in a strange and ultimately career-defining move,
Princess Anne turned her attention to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts,
serving as president from 1972 until 2001.
Today, Prince William serves as president of the organization, a position he's held
since 2010.
If you're not super well versed in film, the BAFTA award is essentially the British equivalent
of an Academy Award in the U.S., and being in such a tremendous position of influence
was quite unique for the Princess Royal.
As BAFTA noted, Anne helped, quote, "increase the stature of the organization," both in
the U.K. and throughout the world during her time as president, even traveling to the U.S.
as a representative during the Royal Day of Film and Television in 1985.
When she stepped down from the role, the BAFTA headquarters was renamed the Princess Anne
Theatre, an ode to her time serving the organization.
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