Princess Anne has always been a pretty private figure. The only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip will celebrate her 70th birthday in August. To mark the occasion, a new documentary will talk to those closest to Anne about the highs and lows of her life as princess royal.
The documentary is called Princess Royal: Anne at 70. It will be similar to the documentary made about Prince Charles for his own 70th birthday. The 90-minute-long piece will feature commentary from her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall. It will also feature her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.
"She was the first daughter of a monarch to go to school, the first royal Olympian and the first child of a monarch to insist her children were called 'Mr' and 'Miss,'" the press release for the film, which will air on ITV in the coming weeks, reads. Anne officially turns 70 on August 15.
Princess Anne has always been known for being one of the more reserved, private members of the royal family. For the occasion of her 70th birthday, she's opening up. Despite that privacy, Anne has always been a popular member of the family.
ITV has announced that a documentary about Anne as a private and public figure will air in celebration of her 70th birthday, which is on August 15.
"As HRH The Princess Royal approaches her 70th birthday, this unique 90-minute documentary brings viewers unprecedented access behind the scenes of her public and private lives in a definitive landmark portrait of this hugely popular member of the Royal Family," ITV noted in a press release.
A camera crew has been following Anne around for over a year, documenting her work.
The documentary will feature never-before-seen footage of Princess Anne throughout the years. It will also speak to those closest to her, including her kids, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall. Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Anne's husband, will also appear.
The documentary will look at Anne's unique experience growing up the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. It will delve into Anne's popularity as a teenager and young adult in the royal family. She graced the cover of Vogue three times between 1971 and 1973.
A renewed interest in Anne's story by the younger generations can actually be attributed to this era. Fans have loved actor Erin Doherty's take on Anne's teen years. Binge watchers are eager to see what the upcoming season of The Crown, which takes place in the '70s, has in store.
Another subject that the documentary discusses is when a gunman infamously tried kidnapping Anne in 1974. Ian Ball shot several people in his attempt to kidnap Anne from the back of a Rolls-Royce en route to Buckingham Palace. His ransom note to the Queen was later discovered, but Anne's fearlessness is what made headlines. When he ordered her out of the car, she quipped, "Not bloody likely."
"I was scrupulously polite because I thought it was silly to be too rude at that stage," Anne said of the event in a later interview.
"The back of my dress split and that was his most dangerous moment. I lost my rag at that stage."
The documentary will also provide a lot of insight into what Anne's life is like nowadays. It will document her storied work ethic as she goes through a busy day with no pauses. The princess royal likes to stay in motion until her day is through.
"Her Ladies in Waiting admit that they struggle to keep up with her relentless pace while her charities reveal a passionate patron who keeps everyone on their toes," the press release notes.
The documentary also says it will show an even more elusive side of Anne. We'll see her in action as a wife, mother, and grandmother during her downtime. She has four grandchildren: Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, and Lena Tindall.
The last time we heard from Anne in her own words was in her Vanity Fair interview in April. There, she spoke about her decision to not give her children royal titles.
"I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles," she said. "So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
In the interview, Anne also praised Zara for her Olympic medal in 2012. Anne herself competed in the 1976 Olympic Games as part of the British equestrian team.
"Her father had been a successful equestrian and won a lot more medals [than I] so you do slightly wonder if having two parents who've been in that situation helped," Anne noted.
"Zara was always a natural and it was really a question of whether she felt that was something she really wanted to do, and she did and she was very thorough and applied herself to it. So she was quite rightly very successful."
If you're expecting Anne might slow down, think again. In the Vanity Fair interview, she completely shut down the thought.
"I don't think retirement is quite the same [for me]," she said.
"Most people would say we're very lucky not to be in that situation because you wouldn't want to just stop. It is, to a large extent, the choice of the organizations you're involved with and whether they feel you're still relevant. But I think both my father and my mother have, quite rightly, made decisions about, you know, 'I can't spend enough time doing this and we need to find somebody else to do it' because it makes sense. I have to admit they continued being there for a lot longer than I had in mind, but we'll see."
Though she has an impressive history of service in her own right, she credits that work ethic and drive to her parents still.
"It comes from an example from both my parents' way of working and where they saw their role being. I mean, my father served. It was a more direct form of service, I suppose you could argue. And the queen's has been a lifelong service in a slightly different way, but they both have that perspective of service which is about working with people."
