Princess Anne’s major responsibility that she shares with only King Charles and Prince William is seriously special and takes place behind palace doors.
A lot of what the Royal Family do might go on behind the scenes, but working royals also undertake plenty of high-profile public engagements. These range from overseas tours, to visiting patronages and attending military ceremonies. The Princess Royal is one of the most hard-working members of the Royal Family and given the immense amount of engagements she does, it’s perhaps no surprise we see her more than most as she carries out her duties. She’s now 17th in the royal line of succession, but she’s a key royal and alongside King Charles and Prince William, Princess Anne has one of the most prestigious responsibilities.
Investiture ceremonies take place annually at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, with some occasionally also held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. According to the Royal Family’s website, around 30 happen each year with over 60 recipients and these special occasions are hosted by "The King, The Princess Royal and The Prince of Wales".
It’s not stated whether or not any other working royals like Prince Edward or Queen Camilla could potentially take on this responsibility too. Inherently, it appears to be those who were born into the Royal Family who tend to undertake this duty. Either way, at the moment Princess Anne is seemingly the only royal woman who awards honours at these investiture ceremonies.
Given that the other two royals who host them are the King and the direct heir to the throne, it shows what a major responsibility this is. Those who are awarded honours have to wait until these ceremonies to receive their award insignia in person from one of these three. The honours recognise outstanding achievements, services to the UK and British Overseas Territories and personal bravery and so the awarding of them is unbelievably special and meaningful.
The Princess Royal is no stranger to these public-facing ceremonies and her continuing to have this responsibility could be seen as another sign of King Charles’s trust in his sister. Already he’s made this heart-warmingly clear since he ascended the throne by specifically requesting for her to become one of his Counsellors of State. Counsellors include the monarch’s spouse and the first four royals over the age of 21 in line to the throne.
This was a significant move from His Majesty and Princess Anne’s commitment to her tireless schedule of royal duties has been as unwavering as ever in recent years. Back in 2020 ahead of her 70th birthday she expressed her opinion to Vanity Fair that retirement wasn’t on the cards for her in the same way as it is for other people.
"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 organisations you’re involved with and whether they feel you’re still relevant."
Meanwhile, she previously explained to The Telegraph last year that she has "no idea" what she would have done as a profession in another life. Instead of worrying too much about this, she focuses on her vital work and believes it helps that she's always had a range of interests.
"It's way too late to have those concerns - in a way the fortunate part of my life has been the broad spectrum, to see so much. Not having a very specific interest has been a bonus, I suppose," she declared.
