At the time of Anne's birth, her grandfather George VI was king. Her mother Elizabeth was heir to the throne. Anne was the third heir to the British throne behind her brother Charles. At the time of the coronation of her mother, Anne, after her brother Charles, took second place in the line of succession to the throne.

With the births of her brothers Andrew (* 1960) and Edward (* 1964) as well as her nephews and nieces, three grandnephews and one grandniece, Anne received subordinated places in the British line of succession to the throne and currently (2019) sits in place fourteen.

The Princess plays a central role in representing the Queen in public. For several years now, she has taken the most appointments of all members of the royal family every year. The Save the Children organisation, of which she has been President since 1970, is a focal point of her activities.

On the evening of March 20th, 1974, a British citizen attempted to kidnap Princess Anne from her vehicle, an Austin A135, on the Pall Mall to extort ransom money, injuring several bodyguards and persons approaching to protect the Princess with his firearm. Princess Anne herself refused to follow the kidnapper out of the car and fled across the other side. All the injured survived and the kidnapper was caught on the scene. 

 She is a rider and for many years has been involved in military competitions. In 1971 she became European Champion in individual competitions; four years later she won another silver medal. The following year she took part with the British team in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. She has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1988. In 1971 she was named United Kingdom Athlete of the Year.