Princess Anne's life at Gatcombe Park is a world away from the royal duties she is best known for. The Princess Royal is frequently labelled the “hardest-working royal” thanks to the sheer volume of engagements she carries out year after year.
But away from the cameras and crowds, a royal expert and one of her famous neighbours say Anne’s day-to-day life is far quieter at her "happy place" - her 500-acre Gloucestershire estate.
Neighbour's Insight
TV personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who lives nearby in Siddington on the edge of Cirencester, says he often sees the King’s sister in a setting that may come as a surprise to royalists. He claims she is a keen rail traveller and has spotted her on multiple occasions at their local station, Kemble.
“I’ve met her on the train quite often – yeah, we’re on kind of nodding terms,” he said. “She travels with a few burly but super smart military types, all very, very unfussy. No one bats an eyelid – we’re all used to her.”
He added that King Charles, when he was Prince of Wales, used to do the same. “Prince [now King] Charles used to do it lots as well, at our local station Kemble.”
Family Life at Gatcombe Park
Anne is based at Gatcombe Park, where her children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, also have homes on the sprawling estate. Laurence said it isn’t unusual to see them around the area too.
“I see her children quite a lot. Peter is someone we know quite well,” he said. “And again, this is one of the things about our end of the Cotswolds – everyone sort of gets on well with each other in a very informal way.”
He suggested the atmosphere is different to parts of Oxfordshire, where celebrity neighbours are more of a feature. “It’s very different when you get to the Oxfordshire kind of way where you’ve got all the smart people and the Beyoncés and Ellen DeGeneres and [people] like that,” he said.
"But with us, it’s much more informal. Most of the time we’re all just people in the community – parents at the school gate or whatever.”
Rail Travel and Work Ethic
Praising the “very good train service” between Kemble and London Paddington, he said rail is a popular choice locally. “There are moments where the train to Paddington is more star-studded than the Expresso Bar at The Ivy,” he joked.
It's no wonder Princess Anne opts for a more relaxed environment away from her duties, having completed 478 engagements last year. And showing no signs of slowing down, she is reportedly due to return to a packed schedule at the end of August, following several overseas trips for royal engagements.
Commenting on her well-documented work ethic and why she doesn't see Anne retiring anytime soon, Ailsa Anderson, who previously served as communications secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, told Hello! Magazine: "She does not pause for breath. Think about how many other 76-year-olds are putting their feet up and watching TV and she just carries on.
"It's all about duty. She inherited that sense of duty and service from her parents. I don't think the word 'retirement' is in her vocabulary."
