Anne, Princess Royal, KG, KT, GCVO, GCStJ, QSO, GCL, CD (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession, behind her mother and elder brother Charles. She rose to second after her mother's accession, but after the birth of two younger brothers, six nieces and nephews, one grand-nephew, and one grand-niece, she is currently 12th in line.

The seventh holder of the title Princess Royal, Anne is known for her charitable work, being the patron of over 200 organisations, and she carries out about 500 royal engagements and public appearances per year. She is also known for equestrian talents; she won two silver medals (1975) and one gold medal (1971) at the European Eventing Championships, and is the first member of the British Royal Family to have competed in the Olympic Games. She is married to Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, has two children from her previous marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, and has three granddaughters.

Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. Holders retain the style for life, so a princess cannot receive the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal. Queen Elizabeth II never held the title as her aunt, Princess Mary, was in possession of the title.

There have been seven Princesses Royal. Princess Anne is the current Princess Royal.

The title Princess Royal came into existence when Queen Henrietta Maria (1609–1669), daughter of Henry IV, King of France, and wife of King Charles I (1600–1649), wanted to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the King of France was styled "Madame Royale". Thus Princess Mary (born 1631), the daughter of Henrietta Maria and Charles, became the first Princess Royal in 1642.

Princess Mary (later Queen Mary II) (1662–1694), eldest daughter of King James II & VII, and Princess Sophia Dorothea (1687–1757), only daughter of King George I, were eligible for this honour but did not receive it. At the time she became eligible for the title, Princess Mary was already Princess of Orange, while Sophia Dorothea was already Queen in Prussia when she became eligible for the title.

Princess Royal was a wooden steamship built in 1907 for the Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service. The ship operated on the coasts of British Columbia, south east Alaska, and northern Puget Sound until 1933, when the ship was sold for scrapping.

Design and construction

Princess Royal was ordered by James W. Troup, superintendent of the coastal steamship service of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was intended to run on routes north of Vancouver along the coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska.

Princess Royal was built in 1907 by the B.C. Marine Railway Company, Ltd., at Esquimalt, British Columbia.Princess Royal was the second ship built for the CPR Coast Service by B.C. Marine Railway Co. (The first was Princess Beatrice.) Princess Royal, like Princess Beatrice, was built of wood. The ship's dimensions were 228 feet (69 m) long, 40-foot (12 m) beam, 17-foot (5.2 m) depth of hold, and 1997 gross tons. The ship had a single propeller. The power plant had a single triple-expansion steam engine, with cylinder diameters, from high to low steam pressure, of 22, 35 and 60 inches (1,500 mm). Bore stroke on all cylinders was 36 inches (910 mm). This power plant, manufactured by Bow, McLachlan and Co. of Paisley, Scotland generated 1600 horsepower. The ship's speed maximum speed was 15 kn (28 km/h).Princess Royal had 72 staterooms with 144 berths. The ship's Canadian registration number was 121988.

Many ships have been named Princess Royal, including:

Royal Navy

See: HMS Princess Royal

United States Navy

East India Company

See: Princess Royal (East Indiaman)

Merchant ships

See also