Is Princess Anne the Royal Who Has Moved Around the Line of Succession the Most? Inside the History

While the Princess Royal has been gradually bumped back through the years, Princess Charlotte's spot is secure for the foreseeable future

Princess Anne was born third in line to the British throne — though much has changed since then!

The Princess Royal turned 73 on Tuesday, inspiring a look back at her surprising journey in the line of succession.

Anne was born in 1950 to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, arriving behind elder brother Prince Charles. Elizabeth was a princess when her daughter was born, and became Queen following the sudden death of her father King George VI in 1952. Change ricocheted through the family, and 3-year-old Charles became heir to the throne upon his mother’s accession. Princess Anne — who was just a year old — was now second in line.

The family of four would become five when Prince Andrew was born in 1960, and expand again when Prince Edward arrived in 1964. Following the birth of Andrew, and then Edward, Anne was bumped down a spot in the line of succession. Under the Act of Settlement 1701, the British crown passed down the line of succession according to male-preference primogeniture.

Related: King Charles Wishes Princess Anne a Happy Birthday with Childhood Photo and New Coronation Candid

"Under this system the monarch would be succeeded by the nearest biological heir except that males would be preferred over females so a younger male would have preference over his elder sister,” etiquette and genealogy expert Debrett’s states.

Princess Anne would remain fourth in line to the throne for many years, and her kids arrived behind her in the line of succession. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip became first-time grandparents when Anne’s son Peter Phillips (with then-husband Captain Mark Phillips) was born in 1977, and followed his mother as fifth in line to the throne.

The dynamic — and dynasty — changed in 1982 with the birth of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s first child. Prince William jumped ahead of his uncles Andrew and Edward, as well as his aunt Anne, in the line of succession and became third in line. Another royal baby also arrived earlier that year, and Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall followed her mother and brother in the order of succession.

Things would shift again when Prince Harry was born in 1984, and Anne was bumped back further when Prince Andrew had kids. Princess Beatrice was born as fifth in line in 1988, while Princess Eugenie became sixth in line in 1990. The Princess Royal would remain eighth in line to the throne until 2003 when Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh welcomed their first child, daughter Lady Louise Windsor. Like her aunt Anne, Louise was bumped back a spot when her younger brother James, Earl of Wessex was born in 2007.

A few years later, the system truly shifted when Prince William and Kate Middleton were expecting their first child, Prince George, now 10. With Parliament's passage of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, birth order now determines who will become the next king or queen of the U.K., regardless of sex. It affects all royals born after Oct. 28, 2011, and also removed the disqualification placed on those arising from marriage to a Roman Catholic.

Related: Kate Middleton Quietly Showed She's a Master of Royal Protocol While Out with Princess Anne: Watch

Modern royal history was made as William and Kate’s family expanded with Princess Charlotte in 2013, and Prince Louis in 2018. Because of the Succession to the Crown Act, Charlotte, now 8, uniquely held her spot in succession when her younger brother was born — marking a royal first.

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Today, Princess Anne is 17th in the line of succession, after her brothers, nephews, nieces, and their children. In addition to William’s kids, the Princess Royal is preceded by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s daughter Sienna, 2 next month, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s sons, 2-year-old August and 2-month-old Ernest.Unlike her brothers, Princess Anne opted not to give her children royal titles at birth and previously touched on why to Vanity Fair.

"I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles," she said in 2020. "So I think that was probably the right thing to do."

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