Princess Anne has been ordered to pay a fine of £500 after pleading guilty to charges that one of her dogs attacked two children. The case marks the first time a member of the Royal Family has been convicted of a criminal offence.
In addition to the £500 fine, the Princess Royal is required to pay £250 in compensation and £148 in court costs. She was also ordered to have the dog in question trained and to keep it under control with a lead in public.
Peter and Zara Phillips accompanied their mother and her husband, Commodore Timothy Laurence, to the trial, in which the royal couple faced charges under the Dangerous Dogs act. Charges involving Commodore Laurence were dropped, however.
Thursday's appearance before a district judge in Berkshire also represented another first – no senior royal has attended court in a century. Princess Anne had been ordered to appear in court on October 9, but was absent due to a previously scheduled charity visit to Ethiopia. The judge in the case then required the Princess and her husband to face charges in person at the next hearing.
The accusations in the case stemmed from an April incident in which one of the Princess' English bull terriers attacked two boys, aged seven and 12, during a walk in Windsor Great Park. |
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