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As the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Princess Anne holds a senior position in the Royal Family. Often dubbed Britain’s hardest-working royal, Anne often completes more engagements than any other royal in a year. It is Anne’s commitment to the Royal Family which earned her a special appointment from the Queen.

Princess Anne was born with a Princess title because she was born to the future monarch, then-Princess Elizabeth.

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip married in 1948, and they welcomed Prince Charles and Princess Anne before Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952.

After becoming Queen, Charles and Anne had to adapt to life as children of the sovereign.

Charles became heir apparent, and Anne was second-in-line to the throne until the birth of her brother, Prince Andrew, in 1960.

When Charles was nine-years-old, the Queen announced her plans to make him the Prince of Wales in 1958.

Prince of Wales has been a royal title for centuries, and the title is reserved for the male heir to the throne.

Similarly, the title of Princess Royal has historically been given to the eldest daughter of the monarch, and the style came into existence in the 1600s.

Queen Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV, King of France, and wife of King Charles I, wanted to imitate the French monarchy, as in France the eldest daughter of the King was styled as “Madame Royale”.

As the Queen’s eldest daughter, Princess Anne was the obvious choice to be the next Princess Royal.

But unlike her brother, Princess Anne did not receive the title as a child.

Instead, Anne had to wait until 1987 to become Princess Royal, at the age of 36.

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Why did Anne have to wait for the Princess Royal title?

In the Royal Family, royal titles are rarely automatically received.

Only the Queen has the right to give out royal titles, and she often does so for wedding days and upon the birth of a family member.

For this reason, Anne had to wait until the Queen awarded her the title – even though Anne was the obvious choice for the role as the monarch’s daughter.

And although Prince Charles received his Prince of Wales title as a child, the same would not have been possible for Anne because the title was not available at the time.

The title of Princess Royal was given to the daughter of King George V, Princess Mary, in 1932.

The title is held for life, and Princess Mary continued to hold the title until her death in 1965.

After the title became vacant, Anne had to wait more than 20 years to receive the title.

But it could be the title was awarded to Anne to reflect her established role as a hard-working member of the Royal Family, and her many years of royal service.

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