Princess Anne hosts over 100 charities at Buckingham Palace to mark upcoming 75th birthday

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

She is known for being one of the hardest-working members of the royal family.
So when it came to marking her 75th birthday year, Princess Anne had only one request - to host as many charities as possible for a special gathering at Buckingham Palace.
With 400 patronages to her name, the royal residence was packed for the 'charities forum'.
'This personifies what Her Royal Highness cares about,' a palace source said. 'She didn't want to do anything for her birthday but bring her charities together to hear more about their work and how she can help them.'
The princess, wearing a sand coloured skirt suit, arrived at today's event after Colonel John Boyd, her Private Secretary, welcomed guests to the Palace's ballroom, telling them: 'There has been a significant amount of interest in HRH's 75th birthday celebrations.
'As you are aware the princess has given decades of time and support to more than 400 charities and patronages.
'It probably won't come as a surprise, given HRH's commitment to you all, that the way the Princess wants to celebrate this milestone is to replicate what she's done on previous significant birthdays and hold this charities forum again to once again understand how she can help you, at a time when the third sector is facing unprecedented challenges and transformations.'
In her own speech to more than 216 guests from 111 different organisations, Anne was typically self-effacing, telling them hilariously: 'I'm not here because this was my choice.
'You very kindly asked me to become patron of your organisations, so it's an honour for me to have all of you here.'
She also spoke about 'the pleasure I get from visiting and finding out a bit more about what you do.'
The Princess took to the podium after hearing from three charity leaders: Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund spoke about public trust in charities; David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission spoke about the financial challenges faced by charities; Zoe Amar, founder and director of Zoe Amar Digital spoke about the opportunities and challenges raised by technology.
Their presentations were followed by a Q&A session led by Professor Lynne Berry, Chair, Human Tissue Authority, who addressed the Princess by saying: 'Your leadership... and encouragement to a group of charities that range in size, in location, in purpose, is quite extraordinary.'
Among the charities invited were two of her most longstanding patronages, Save the Children, which she became patron of in 1970, and Riding for the Disabled, of which she became patron in 1971.
Some of her newest charities were also represented, including Friends of the Elderly and Royal Star and Garter Homes - both formerly patronages of Queen Elizabeth II - and the Naval Children's Charity, formerly a patronage of the Duke of York.
In her address, the Princess also told guests: 'I would just like to make the point that we're very fortunate that His Majesty has allowed us to use Buckingham Palace for this event… And I need to say that!'
She concluded by saying: 'The responsibility and respect that you give to your own organisations, the people who work for you and your own beneficiaries, is perhaps the key to what makes you so important. Respect and responsibility. Thank you very much for doing what you do.'
The Princess Royal beamed on Thursday as she chatted with members from the charities she supports
The Princess, who will turn 75 on August 15, is not expected to mark her milestone publicly in any other way.
After today's event in the ballroom, she spent around an hour chatting to guests at an afternoon tea reception in the Picture Gallery, where they were entertained by musicians from the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, one of Anne's patronages.
This comes as Princess Anne became the first royal to visit to the peninsula of Little Sark as the Channel Islands celebrated Liberation Day last month.
She was joined by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence for the day - 80 years since the archipelago was freed from Nazi occupation in World War Two.
Anne travelled by horse and carriage to La Coupee, a narrow walkway that connects the main island of Sark to the peninsula of Little Sark.
She became the very first member of the Royal Family to visit the area.
She had the opportunity to speak to islanders who had been liberated from German occupation, and enjoyed a street party with Chelsea Pensioners and Gurkhas.
Christopher Beaumont, the Seigneur of Sark, said he was sure Anne would be 'blown away by the beauty of the island'.