‘Super trouper’ Princess Anne wears favourite tiara in regal 75th birthday portrait

She’s the royal family’s “super trouper”, according to the Prince and Princess of Wales – and, along with the King, the hardest-working member of the Firm by quite a distance.

But as Princess Anne turns 75 in typically low-key fashion this week, she shows no signs of slowing down. A new image released before her birthday on 15 August shows the King’s sister with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, at a state banquet at Windsor Castle last month.

Taken as the couple arrived for duty, it shows the Princess – who was HELLO!‘s original cover girl when the magazine launched in 1988 – looking timelessly elegant in a white evening dress and bolero jacket, teamed with a dazzling diamond necklace and the Festoon Tiara along with her royal family orders, the Thistle Star and the Garter Star and sash.

Proving her sustainable-fashion credentials, the royal style icon is wearing the same gown in which she posed for an official portrait when she turned 70.

But it’s safe to assume that she will be more casually dressed on her big day, as she enjoys a bracing sailing holiday around Scotland’s west coast with her husband.

Keeping things low-key

The self-effacing Princess had not wanted any fuss, telling aides that she was only interested in marking a birthday with a zero in it, “not the fives”.

However, she did approve a few requests, including two new portraits and a commemorative silver £5 coin from the Royal Mint – the first to honour her “remarkable lifetime of service”.

She also agreed to a public moment to mark her birthday, hosting a charity forum at Buckingham Palace in June for more than 100 of her patronages, which number around 400.

“This personifies what Her Royal Highness cares about,” a Palace source says. “She didn’t want to do anything for her birthday but bring her charities together to hear more about their work and how she can help them.”

“She’s incredibly kind, and her human approach comes across,” says Tanya Curry, the chief executive of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, of which Anne has been patron since 2008. “You feel as though you’re talking to someone who really cares and understands.”

Among those at the palace in June were representatives of two of her most longstanding patronages: Save the Children, of which she became president in 1970, and Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), of which she has been a patron since 1971.

Anne herself is an accomplished horsewoman: she competed in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, five years after becoming European Eventing Champion and being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year. And it was at the RDA’s national championships where she made her first public outing after being hospitalised with concussion in June 2024, following an accident involving a horse.

Irrepressible spirit

“She was full of determination to be with us,” Michael Bishop, the charity’s chief executive, tells HELLO!. “[She] demonstrated all of her passion as I was reading out awards recipients. Before people had got halfway across to her, she’s recalling the last time she met them and engaging in the ‘Oh, well, I haven’t seen you for a few years,’ and off the conversation goes.”

Reflecting on Anne’s character, he describes her as “incredibly personable and very determined”, adding: “[The Princess is] witty. She’s got a great sense of humour and brings that into those interactions. She’s the first person to put everyone at ease with a quick one-liner.”

Meanwhile, in her 55 years with Save the Children, Anne has travelled to more than 30 countries and met 27,000 supporters, according to the former diplomat Moazzam Malik, who became the charity’s chief executive in January.  

“She’s low-key, she’s self-effacing, she doesn’t want to take the limelight, but she’s very committed,” he tells us. “You can see that she cares about the state of Britain and the state of the world.”

When it comes to taking advice from Anne, he adds: “I will be listening carefully, because I don’t have any other colleagues who have been around for quite so long. It’s great to have somebody like that who will keep nudging you forward.”

The formidable Princess is known for her straight talking – she famously told an armed would-be kidnapper “not bloody likely” when he held up her limousine in 1974 – and for her remarkable work ethic.

Life of service

Anne notched up 474 engagements in 2024, compared with 372 for the King, who is continuing to receive treatment for cancer. She has made seven overseas visits so far in 2025, with her most recent, to Ireland last week, coming after trips to Cape Town, Lausanne, Athens, Gallipoli, Barbados and Belgium.

“The stamina that she brings, mentally and physically, is amazing,” Tanya tells us. Recalling a visit that the Princess made to Leeds Rhinos with the late rugby player Rob Burrow and his family, she adds: “I asked her if she wanted to take the lift or the stairs. She was up the stairs, as a security guard described, like a mountain goat. I was trying to keep up with her and have a conversation and not be out of breath, and it was all just in her stride. She walks into a room and lights it up.””

When it comes to visiting her many patronages, Anne’s only requirement from hosts is “a cup of coffee that’s strong enough to stand a spoon in”, according to Paul Alger, the international business director at the UK Fashion and Textile Association, where she has been president for 40 years.

Fuss-free

“She is not interested in someone holding an umbrella for her if it rains. She doesn’t mind getting wet – she’s very down to earth in that regard,” he says. “I see people with an umbrella hovering and I say: ‘Well, there’s probably not much point, because she’s not going to wait for you.’

“She’s very much her own person. I think she’s amazing,” he continues. “She was asked many years ago for her abiding memory of royal visits to fashion and textile companies and her answer, after a second, was: ‘The smell of fresh paint.’ She understands the way these things work and has a great sense of humour.”

Unsurprisingly, Anne’s dedication to duty and no-nonsense approach have won her legions of fans. She ranks just behind the Princess and Prince of Wales in YouGov’s list of the most popular royals, and it has often been said that she is “the best queen we never had”.

So royal watchers will be relieved to hear that she is not planning to take a step back any time soon. Asked in January whether she would consider retirement, she replied: “It isn’t really an option. I don’t think there’s a retirement programme on this particular life.”

She is hugely supportive of the King, whom she affectionately calls “Old Bean”, and it is hoped that the Princess will continue to play a key role in the royal family for many years to come. She reportedly wants to continue working until the age of 90, after slowing down from the age of 80, following the example of her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, who took on only occasional engagements after turning 90 until his retirement from public life at 96.

Home life

She also plans to spend plenty of precious family time with her family at Gatcombe Park, the Gloucestershire estate she has called home since 1977. Her son, Peter Phillips, who recently announced his engagement to the paediatric nurse Harriet Sperling, lives on the estate. So too does her daughter, Zara, with her husband, former England rugby star Mike Tindall, and their children, Mia, 11, Lena, seven, and Lucas, four.

Ever practical, the Princess declined to give her children royal titles, saying in 2019: “It was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles.”

Anne is hands-on, both at Gatcombe Park Farm and as a grandmother of five: Zara’s children plus Savannah, 14, and Isla, 13, Peter’s daughters with his former wife, Autumn Kelly.

With another family wedding to plan and more travel filling her diary for the coming months, the Princess has a lot to look forward to as she turns 75.