How Is Princess Anne’s Relationship With Queen Elizabeth?

Princess Anne, being born to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, has been given the title of princess since birth. As the only daughter of the Queen, people assume that the princess has a special bond with the Queen. However, royal upbringing always has differences from the regular family set-up. Thus, a question is asked, how exactly is the relationship of Princess Anne and her mother?

Born in 1987, the princess is the second of four children and is currently the 14th in line to the throne. She was born one year after her older brother, Prince Charles, and they have a shared experience of their childhood. Due to the Queen’s busy schedule and the culture dictated by their status, the duties of caring for and raising the prince and princess were much left to nannies.

Although Prince Charles grew up to be more attached to their nannies and his grandmother, Princess Anne grew up to be quite “close” to her mother. Understanding that the Queen had limitations in terms of time, the Princess Royal openly opposed the rumors that Elizabeth was uncaring.

“I simply don't believe there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that she wasn't caring,” the princess said in an interview. “I don't believe any of us for a second thought she didn't care for us in exactly the same way as any other mother did,” she added.

To add, historian Robert Lacey claims that Lord Mountbatten — Prince Philip's uncle — also attests to the Queen’s care and love for her children. Lord Mountbatten once said that Her Majesty’s favorite day was “Mabel’s night off” — or the night off of the nanny of her children. “When nanny Mabel was off duty, Elizabeth could kneel beside the bath, bathe her babies, read to them and put them to bed herself,” he added.

Anne’s love for horses also made her quite close to her mother. According to Lacey, the shared love for horses made a special bond between her and the Queen, and eventually in her teenage years the two would share opinions on fashion and clothes.

Today, Princess Anne does her mother proud by being the most hardworking member of the royal family. She is currently involved in almost 300 charities, and after being present at 179 royal engagements last year, she is currently the busiest member of the royal family. This year alone, she has attended almost double the engagements of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle combined.