Princess Anne: The Olympic equestrian who inspired a TikTok trend

Princess Anne, known officially as the Princess Royal, was front and centre in the funeral procession for Queen Elizabeth II.

She joined her brothers – King Charles III, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – as the late monarch’s coffin was led past thousands of mourners in London yesterday.

Princess Anne had a visible role in all of her mother’s funeral events, becoming the first female royal to take part in the Vigil of the Princes last week.

The 72-year-old was praised widely by the public for her courage and fortitude during a difficult time.

Princess Anne is not just known for being a member of the royal family, however. She also had a successful career in eventing, even competing at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games.

The Princess Royal began taking professional riding lessons at Holyport’s Smith Stables as a child, before debuting in public competition aged 11.

But Princess Anne’s equestrian expertise wasn’t widely acknowledged until she was 21, when she placed fourth at the Rushall Horse Trials.

She then won the individual title at the 1971 European Eventing Championships in Burghley, and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year later that year.

Princess Anne clinched a silver medal in the individual and team disciplines at the 1975 European Eventing Championships, earning the chance to represent Britain at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games.

Competing in the eventing discipline, Princess Anne used the Queen’s horse, Goodwill. She was the first British Royal to compete at the Olympic Games, but her debut did not go to plan.

Goodwill failed to make one of the jumps on the course, causing Princess Anne to fall. She quickly remounted her horse, but completed the rest of the competition with concussion.

The Princess