Princess Anne was the first member of the royal family to return to public engagements in 2023.
Yesterday, Princess Anne attended the Oxford Farming Conference, giving a speech in her capacity as Honorary President of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association. "HRH The Princess Royal ending the morning session talking about the need for us to make use of our knowledge and take farming into the future," Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association tweeted.
In 2022, Anne once again claimed her title of the hardest working royal of the year, attending 214 engagements. In second place was her brother, King Charles, who undertook 181 royal engagements.
Recently, Anne and Prince Edward were named a Counsellor of State, and is now authorized to carry out most of the official duties of the sovereign. Previously, the Counsellors of State for King Charles were the first four people in the line of succession above the age of 21: Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and Princess Beatrice.
Claudia Harrison, who plays Princess Anne in The Crown, told Town & Country about her dream storyline for Anne. "We were laughing over this Christmas scene," Harrison says. "Anne's at work. She's not in it. I just was like, 'Please, can we have a scene of her Somalia? Scenes of Anne working 400 days a year?' She's exceptional." Yet, Harrison continued, "The Crown is quite rightly the heir and the spare, and in season five, I'm no longer the heir or the spare. I am the support system."
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.