Anne: The Princess Royal at 70
As HRH the Princess Royal turns 70, this documentary shows the different sides to the Queen’s daughter...
29 July, 9pm
ITV Factual
To mark Princess Anne’s landmark birthday, there are interviews with Anne herself, as well as her children and husband. There’s also a look back at her sporting triumphs, the failed kidnap attempt on her in 1974, and relentless charity work, which has made her one of the busiest members of ‘The Firm’.
Dutiful, discreet and one of the hardest-working royals, Princess Anne has served the Queen and country diligently for over half a century.
Now, as she prepares to celebrate her 70th birthday on 15 August, a fascinating
ITV documentary follows the Princess Royal over the course of a year, with cameras allowed unprecedented access behind the scenes of her public and private lives.
‘It’s a revealing portrait of a remarkable woman,’ says royal biographer and the show’s producer Robert Hardman. ‘She’s rather like her mother, the Queen, who’s the most famous woman in the world yet has no interest in celebrity.
The Princess has been in the public eye since she was born but guards her privacy closely, which is why some people feel they don’t know much about her. I hope this documentary will show the public who she really is.’
Robert visits the Princess at her Gloucestershire home, Gatcombe Park.
‘Everyone was social distancing, so we conducted the interview in a field,’ says Robert. ‘I suddenly realised a large white bull was coming into shot behind her shoulder! She found it funny, though!’
Discussing her school days, her sporting career and her work schedule, we also hear from her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and close friends who insist she’s a royal mould-breaker.
‘She was the first royal Olympian, the first daughter of a monarch to go to school and the first to break with tradition and not give her children HRH titles,’ explains Robert.
‘Anne was the first modern princess who wanted duties where she could roll her sleeves up and get stuck in. She’s an impressive woman.’