Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Princess Anne ends 2024 as the hardest working royal – as always. The Princess Royal has topped the engagements count for the year just gone and that’s despite an enforced rest after a serious accident left her in hospital for days with concussion and head injuries. It’s been another packed twelve months for the Princess and her family.
The Princess Royal began busy – what else? The Princess, and her husband, Vice Admiral Sit Timothy Laurence made an official visit to Sri Lanka, the first official royal overseas trip of 2024.
During their time, their packed agenda included time at the Head Office of Save the Children Sri Lanka and a visit to a Hindu temple.
The Princess Royal carried out hundreds of engagements throughout 2024 and, as usual, gave her support to a wide range of organisations and charities. At the start of the year, as The King had to scale back public facing meetings because of his cancer treatment, his sister stepped in for him at some big events including a reception for veterans of the Korean war where she delivered a message on His Majesty’s behalf.
This past year has brought plenty of visits to the military from Princess Anne as well as a focus on often overlooked issues. From supporting initiatives to stamp out knife crime to her work with sometimes forgotten groups like lighthouse keepers, The Princess Royal has put many different parts of the community at the centre of her agenda for 2024 and brought a lot of positive change with it.
At the end of June, Princess Anne was hospitalised with head injuries and a concussion following an accident at her Gatcombe Park estate. Her injuries are said to have been consistent with impact from a horse’s head or legs.
In response, The Princess was forced to cancel engagements, including a trip to Canada to commemorate those lost in the Battle of the Somme, and no longer took part in the State Visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
On 12 July, just three weeks following her accident, The Princess was back at work. Her Royal Highness was determined to take part in a special event for one of the organisations closest to her heart, Riding for the Disabled.
The charity’s work was brought to a global audience as Anne’s return to the royal agenda made global headlines. She told guests she “couldn’t remember a single thing” about the accident. Just hours later, the Prince and Princess of Wales took to official social media to hail aunt Anne as a ”super trooper”.
As a member of the International Olympic Committee, The Princess Royal was in Paris ahead of the start of the Summer Games for the IOC meeting. Her ongoing recovery did nothing to dim her work ethic as she showed her support for Team GB and all the work behind the scenes to ensure Olympic success.
The ever practical Princess decided to watch the Opening Ceremony at the British embassy and so missed the heavy rain that soaked other royals. She spent plenty of time at the Olympic village, meeting athletes and their support teams. Anne’s passion for the Olympics and the power of sport remains undimmed. She returned to the UK just days before her 74th birthday.
Princess Anne’s love of sport is shared by her two children. While Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall are private citizens and don’t take on royal duties, their support for major British sporting events is notable.
Zara is a constant at one of the country’s biggest annual events, the Cheltenham Festival, while her brother’s passion for motorsport is well known and he was again leading the royal charge at the Silverstone Grand Prix this summer. Meanwhile, Zara’s husband, Mike Tindall, remains a leading voice in rugby and field sport with his high profile podcast focusing on some of the biggest issues in the area.
Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte may have been the stars of the Taylor Swift selfie but the Eras Tour got another royal cousin excited, too. Zara Tindall, The Princess Royal’s daughter was spotted with her children, her husband Mike, and a number of sequins as they enjoyed one of Taylor Swift’s eight London concerts.
Mike Tindall, The Princess Royal’s son-in-law, shared a unique look into royal home life. On Good Morning Britain, he was asked what he calls Princess Anne when they’re sharing Sunday dinner. He was quick with his answer – it’s “Ma’am.” And when pushed on whether that ever becomes ”mum”, he was quite clear. Absolutely not. It is always ”ma’am”.
King Charles and Princess Anne ended the year together at Sandringham, going to church together a few days after Christmas. It was another very visible sign of the strong bond they share, one that deepens with time and which clearly means everything to both of them.
The King has made no secret of the great strength he draws from his sister’s support while The Princess Royal is clear and unequivocal in her admiration for her brother. Charles III has given some of the most important roles in his reign to his sister, including the task of leading the huge military procession at his Coronation, and she remains a steadfast companion. The year just gone has brought difficulties for both but they ended 2024 at each other’s sides with plenty of plans for the future.