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Here are some surprising facts about the flinty, athletic and impressively thrifty royal mom of two (and grandmother of three!), born on August 15, 1950 – and the only one of Elizabeth’s four children to be singled out for her own portrait with the monarch mom back in April.
1. She Was the Target of a Kidnapping Attempt
2. She’s an Olympian
3. She Was a Royal Recycler Long Before Princess Kate
Known for her thrifty fashion sense as much as she is for her signature (and unchanging!) “cottage loaf” hairstyle, Anne was recycling outfits way beforePrincess Katetook a page from her frugal playbook. In 2008, Anne wore the same ruffled-hem floral outfit to Lady Rose Windsor’s wedding that she had worn 27 years earlier to her older brother Prince Charles‘s nuptials to Lady Diana. (She even topped off the vintage outfit with the same canary yellow hat!) Just last year, she recycled a35-year-old outfit to Royal Ascot–andpulled it off.
4. She’s No Slacker
Carrying out 544 engagements in 2015 – an average of 10 per week – Anne, who is 11th in line to the throne, “has one of the busiest working schedules of any member of the Royal Family” states theofficial website of the British Monarchy. Involved with more than 300 charities, including her role as president of Save the Children, which she has supported since 1970, she even beats future kingPrince Charles, who attended 17 fewer events in the same year.
How Does “Princess Kate Get Her Glow?
5. She Shares an Ex with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
The often imposing-looking royal has had no shortage of romantic suitors. In 1970, she dated Andrew Parker Bowles, the first husband ofPrince Charles’s current wife, Camilla. After reportedly having her heart broken, Anne went onto marry Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in 1973. Amid reports of an affair with her personal bodyguard, Sergeant Peter Cross, and the discovery of love letters from naval officer Sir Timothy Laurence, the couple split in 1989 and divorced in 1992. Just months later, she married Laurence in a small church ceremony. Earlier this year, it was revealed that a screenplay has been penned about Anne’s love life, titledAnne: The Frisky Princess.
source: people.com
