Princess Anne’s reputation as the most unsentimental and
industrious member of the Royal Family is well established. Yet
those who worked closely with her late father have long suggested
that her steely resolve, impatience with pretension and formidable
work ethic placed her in a category Prince Philip particularly
admired – so much so that palace staff once joked she was “the son
he never had”.
The remark, attributed to royal servants and recalled by the
author Tom Quinn, reflects the unusually close bond between the
Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021
aged 99. Their relationship, by many accounts, was defined by
mutual respect rather than indulgence, and by a shared disdain for
fuss.
Anne, now 75, has never conformed to royal stereotypes. She
famously declined university despite strong academic results,
dismissing higher education as unnecessary unless it served a clear
purpose. In interviews and documentaries she has described the
assumption that everyone should go to university as “overrated”, a
view that reportedly amused her father.
While her elder brother, now King Charles, followed the
traditional path to Cambridge, Anne left school and became a
full-time working royal at just 18. It was a decision entirely in
keeping with Philip’s belief in duty, discipline and action over
theory. Friends of the Duke often remarked that he admired his
daughter’s willingness to get on with the job, without complaint or
ceremony.
That admiration deepened through their shared love of horses.
Philip, an accomplished carriage driver in later life, took
particular pride in Anne’s equestrian achievements. In 1971 she won
individual gold at the Burghley Horse Trials, a moment said to have
delighted her father. The two spent long hours together around
stables and competitions, and Anne would later take on the Duke’s
carriages, continuing his legacy in the sport.
Observers also noted the similarities in temperament. Philip’s
former private secretary once remarked that while Charles took
after the Queen, Anne was unmistakably her father’s daughter. She
adopted many of his expressions and mannerisms, and shared his dry
humour and intolerance for self-importance.
During difficult periods – including the collapse of her first
marriage to Mark Phillips – Anne is said to have leaned heavily on
her father for support. Their bond, forged in shared interests and
a similar outlook on life, only strengthened with time.
Anne’s second marriage, to Sir Timothy Laurence, was another
moment that highlighted Philip’s steadfast support. Despite the
low-key nature of the ceremony, he personally drove his daughter to
the church near Balmoral, a private act of loyalty that spoke
volumes about their relationship.
Today, Anne remains the Royal Family’s most tireless worker, a
figure admired across the political spectrum for her diligence and
lack of artifice. If the label of “the son Prince Philip never had”
is an exaggeration, it is one rooted not in gender but in character
– a reflection of the qualities the late Duke of Edinburgh valued
most, and found so abundantly in his only daughter.
