Anne’s milestone 75th birthday marked with new photograph

A new photograph of the Princess Royal has been released to mark her 75th birthday.

Anne, who celebrates her three-quarters-of-a-century milestone on Friday, is pictured with an amused smile as she stands near a window outside her Gatcombe Park home.

The King’s sister, often hailed as the hardest-working member of the royal family, has eschewed any major public commemorations for her big day, preferring to host a special forum for her charities in June instead.

She is said to be spending the day sailing around the Western Isles of Scotland with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and marking her birthday privately.

The official portrait, taken by celebrated photographer John Swannell last month, shows Anne wearing a clean-lined colour-blocked royal blue dress with a contrasting bright white high collar, matching cuffs and white buttoned central trim.

Anne, who is known for re-wearing her outfits even decades later, was pictured in the same dress at The King’s Foundation Awards at St James’s Palace in June.

The image captures a relaxed-looking Anne, with her hair self-styled in her signature bouffant, resting her hand on a stone windowsill at Gatcombe.

It was from the princess’s Gloucestershire estate just over a year ago that Anne was taken to hospital after she was believed to have been struck by a horse.

She was treated in intensive care for concussion and minor head injuries, spending five nights at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

The princess, who was back on royal duties less than three weeks later, has said she has no memory of the incident but now views every day as a “bonus”.

Last month the Royal Mint unveiled the first official UK coin to honour Anne, created in celebration of her birthday and lifetime of service.

Swannell was also tasked with taking the official photographs for Anne’s 70th, and previously photographed Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons, the late Queen for her official diamond jubilee portrait in 2012, Sir Tony Blair, Sir Michael Caine and Sir Elton John.

Another image of Anne by photographer Chris Jackson was released last week showing the princess in a tiara and gown with Sir Tim on the night of the Windsor Castle state banquet for French President Emmanuel Macron.