Princess Anne may be The Queen‘s only daughter, but with three European Championship medals under her belt, the 1971 BBC Sports Personality of the Year title, an Olympics to her name (Montreal in 1976) and a stint as the president of the FEI (1986-1994), this horswoman is an icon of the equestrian world in her own right.
On her 65th birthday today (15 August 2015), we’ve dug into the archives to celebrate Princess Anne’s status as equestrian royalty — from her competition days to watching the next generation in action.
Princess Anne in pictures
1971
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Princess Anne and Doublet on their way to an eventing European Championship individual gold medal at Burghley in 1971
1973
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Princess Anne and Goodwill at the European Championships in Kiev 1973
1976
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Princess Anne makes her Olympic debut in Montreal in 1976 with Goodwill, in front of an impressive crowd for the dressage. She was the first member of the British royal family to compete in an Olympics
Watch an extract from CNN Equestrian's interview with the top British event rider
1981
Princess Anne and her mount Stevie B taking the 20th fence in the Cross Country section of the Burghley Horse Trials at Stamford.
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Princess Anne and Stevie B at the 20th fence of the 1981 Burghley cross-country course
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1981
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Stevie B and Princess Anne take a tumble in the water at Burghley in 1981
1983
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The Queen and Princess Anne in the royal procession at Ascot in June 1983
2010
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In July 2010, Princess Anne presents Major Moylaw with his prize at the Great Yorkshire Show
2010
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Princess Anne at the National Pony Society Championships in 2010
2011
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The next generation: Princess Anne helps Zara Phillips officilally retire her European and world champion horse Toytown at Gatcombe in 2011
2011
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2011 Burghley Horse Trials winner William Fox-Pitt receives his prize from Princess Anne, who won the title herself 40 years earlier on Doublet
2012
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A proud moment: Princess Anne and her father Prince Philip watch Zara and High Kingdom in the dressage phase of the London 2012 Olympic Games in Greenwich Park
2012
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Princess Anne presents Zara, and her team mates Nicola Wilson, Tina Cook, Mary King and William Fox-Pitt, with their silver medals at London 2012
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.
