Princess Anne shows true colours in blunt response over breaking major royal tradition

Princess Anne did not follow an expected royal tradition with her children (Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Princess Anne is best-known for being one of the hardest working members of the Royal Family, carrying out a significant number of public engagements every year.

Despite the fact she is the sister of King Charles, the Princess Royal, 74, shows no signs or ambitions of slowing down, remaining firmly focused on duty even after being released from hospital following a head injury earlier this year.

While Anne appears to enjoy her royal role and the work that comes with it, this is not something the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II particularly wanted for her two children Peter Phillips, 47, and Zara Tindall, 43.

To enable them to leave as ordinary a childhood as possible, Princess Anne decided to break with royal tradition by not giving them HRH titles when they were born, a peerage she would have been offered from the late Queen.

When asked about her reason why in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2020, the Princess Royal suggested this was to give them an easier life.

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Showing her true colours as a caring and principled mother, she said: “I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles. So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”

While Peter and Zara were not given titles, and to this day continue to live far more ordinary lives than their cousins Prince William and Prince Harry, she did send both of them to the prestigious Gordonstoun school in Scotland where her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, and brother King Charles were boarders.

The princess, who boarded at Benenden School in Kent, defended her decision to send her children to the school in the interview.

She said: “I think boarding school has been demonized by some when in fact it’s a very important aspect to have available and many children actually thrive in it.

The siblings do not have HRH titles (Image: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

“One of the other charities I got involved with was the Royal Wanstead Foundation, which is now the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation and takes children from chaotic homes and sends them to boarding schools. You only have to listen to them to realize that it’s absolutely transformed their lives.”

While both Peter and Zara have carved their own lives, with Peter working in management and Zara being a professional equestrian and a non-executive director at Cheltenham Racecourse, they still both live on properties on Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park Estate.

They also attend big royal events such as Christmas celebrations, coronations, weddings and funerals.