As Princess Anne's milestone 75th birthday approaches, it appears that despite having a serious accident last year, the hardest-working royal is showing no signs of slowing down.
According to The Times, a source who knows Anne well says: "Her accident was so much worse than anyone let on, and it took quite a while for her to feel herself again."
The Princess was at her Gatcombe Park estate when she suffered a concussion. At the time, her medical team reported that her head injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse's head or legs.
© GettyThen, earlier this year, Anne said she did not "remember a single thing" about the incident. In an interview with the Press Association during an official visit to South Africa in January, Anne revealed the accident had encouraged her to reflect:
"It just reminds you, shows you — you never quite know, something [happens] and you might not recover."
© Getty"You're jolly lucky … if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis, and last summer I was very close to not being. Take each day as it comes, they say. You are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus really."
© Getty1. Hardest-working royal
In 2024, Princess Anne retained her crown as the hardest-working royal for a fourth year in a row, racking up an impressive 395 engagements in UK, alongside 79 abroad.
2. Criminal offence
Princess Anne became the first senior member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offence. In 2002, her three-year-old English Bull Terrier bit two children in Windsor, Great Park. She pleaded guilty to a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act and was fined £500.
3. Lucky escape
Just four weeks after her wedding in 1974, Princess Anne survived a kidnapping attempt. While driving down The Mall, her chauffeur had to stop the car due to another vehicle blocking the road. Ian Ball got out of the car and shot the chauffeur. Despite Ian shooting a total of four men in the encounter, Anne escaped unharmed.
4. Breaking tradition
When Anne's children, Peter and Zara, were born, she declined the chance to grant them royal titles. She explained her decision 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."
5. Signature hairdo
In a 2020 documentary, Princess Anne exclaimed her surprise that it took two hours to style the hair of Erin Doherty, who portrays her in The Crown. Anne said it only takes her 10 to 15 minutes to do her own hair.
Last month, she was promptly back on the saddle for the Trooping the Colour, which marked the first time she had ridden in public since the incident. Just three weeks after her accident, Anne was back fulfilling her jam-packed agenda of public engagements while sporting a fresh black eye.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesDespite this, she still managed to top the list as the hardest-working royal last year, clocking up 474 engagements. The King was in second place with 372.
It also appears that the Princess shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to filling her royal diary with a close friend, revealing that she plans to follow in her father's footsteps.
© Getty Images"She has said her plan is to push on [with work] until she is 80, then start winding down a bit, and then copy the [late] Duke of Edinburgh and wind down completely at 90."
