Princess Anne Was with Her Mother, the Queen, During Her Final Hours

When Princess Anne was born on August 15, 1950, she was extremely close to the crown, second in line to the throne, behind only her older brother Charles. Now, she is 16th, following the arrivals of her brothers' children and granchildren, as well as the death of her mother on September 8, 2022.

Anne falls behind her younger brothers in the order of succession because male primogeniture served as protocol for the royal family from the Act of Settlement of 1701 up until 2013. The Succession to the Crown Act of 2013, which ensures that a female heir cannot be surpassed in the line to the throne by a younger male heir, only applies to royals born after October 28, 2011.

But while she almost certainly will never become Queen, she still holds a significant role in the monarchy, not only as the daughter of a former monarch and the sister of the current King, but also as one of the hardest working members of The Firm—and the royal family's resident badass.

Here's what else you need to know about her:

She holds the title of Princess Royal.

As the daughter of the monarch, Anne was awarded the title of princess at birth. In 1987, the Queen granted her the additional title of the Princess Royal. Princess Charlotte will most likely eventually hold the title, after Prince William becomes King, but it is not automatic.

As royal writer Duncan Larcombe previously told Town & Country, "It is a title that remains for life, so Princess Charlotte will have to wait at least until the death of the current Princess Royal."

She was with the Queen in her final hours.

In a moving statement, the Princess Royal opened up about spending the Queen's last moments with her. "I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting," she said. Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence also flew with the Queen's coffin from Edinburgh to London.

Princess Anne is currently married to Sir Timothy Laurence.

Laurence is a retired British naval officer and former equerry to the Queen; the couple wed in in a quiet ceremony in a Presbyterian church near Balmoral in December of 1992. Princess Anne was previously married to Captain Mark Phillips, an Olympic equestrian and retired military officer. She and Phillips have two children together: Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall. Anne also has five grandchildren: Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, Lena Tindall, and Lucas Tindall.

She is a full-time working royal.

Anne entered public life at age 18, and she continues to serve as a working royal. Involved in upwards of 300 different charity organizations, Anne spent roughly 180 days at royal engagements in 2018, making her the busiest member of the royal family that year.

Like her mother was, Anne is a keen equestrian.

In 1976, she competed in the Olympic Games riding one of her mother's horses, and now she serves as the president of the British Olympic Association and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

According to the royal family's website, "the Princess also competed in multiple European Three-Day Event Championships, winning a gold medal in the 1971 individual discipline and silver in both the individual and team disciplines in 1975."

Of her love of horses, Anne's father colorfully said, "If it doesn't fart or eat hay, she isn't interested."

It's a passion she passed on to her daughter Zara, who won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the equestrian sports.

She once foiled a kidnapping plot.

In 1974, a mentally ill 26-year-old named Ian Ball tried to kidnap the princess for a ransom of £2 million pounds; however, Anne and her no-nonsense attitude (and her personal security, of course) were not to be messed with.

"It was all so infuriating; I kept saying I didn't want to get out of the car, and I was not going to get out of the car," she said, according to the BBC. "I nearly lost my temper with him, but I knew that if I did, I should hit him and he would shoot me."

Ball was eventually subdued by police. Then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson praised Anne in government papers, saying she behaved with "quite extraordinary courage and presence of mind," in the situation.

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