At 75, Princess Anne is marking more than a seasonal tradition with her 2025 Christmas card. The card, sent to the Governor’s House in Queensland and released publicly, carries a quiet but telling detail: it is simply signed “Anne and Tim.” No titles, no royal styling—just two first names beneath a photograph of the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, in a carriage on Sark in the Channel Islands. For a woman who has spent more than five decades in public service, the understated signature reads as a reflection of a role long defined more by work than by status.
Changing Signals in a Busy Royal Life
The image used inside the card was taken during a May 2025 visit to Sark, where Princess Anne became the first member of the Royal Family to cross La Coupée, the narrow isthmus linking the main island to Little Sark. At 74, she was still taking on physically demanding engagements and pioneering visits. That same stamina shapes her official workload. According to public records compiled in the Court Circular, she has consistently ranked as the most active working royal in recent years. In 2024, even after being hospitalized in June following a horse-related injury, she still completed 217 official engagements, more than any other senior family member.
Her calendar typically stretches from early-morning military events to late-evening receptions, often in multiple locations on the same day. Beyond the volume, her visits often focus on hospitals, veterans’ organizations, specialist charities, and institutions that rarely receive sustained attention. Those appearances tend to underline a long-standing reputation: a royal who turns up quietly, does the job, and moves on to the next commitment.
Formal Rules, Informal Choices
The simplicity of Anne’s signature sits against a broader pattern in royal correspondence. Senior members of the Royal Family generally avoid personal signatures in public or informal settings due to concerns about forgery. Autographs are discouraged, and even brief notes risk being copied or misused. In 2022, Catherine, Princess of Wales, summed up the rule at the Chelsea Flower Show, explaining to a well-wisher that she was “not allowed” to sign her name because it was “just one of those rules.”
By contrast, official state paperwork requires full regnal signatures. King Charles and Queen Camilla sign state documents “Charles R” and “Camilla R,” the “R” indicating rex and regina. Queen Elizabeth II maintained a similar division, using “Elizabeth R” for formal duties and reserving her childhood nickname “Lilibet” for personal letters. In that context, the 2025 Christmas cards from the King and Queen—sent unsigned—and the unsigned card from the Prince and Princess of Wales, featuring an image from Catherine’s chemotherapy recovery, align with modern security practices and a desire to limit the circulation of personal signatures.
Princess Anne’s card finds a middle ground. The outside bears her royal monogram: a coronet above the letter “A” printed in blue, the traditional marker that the message comes from a member of the Royal Family. Inside, however, the handwriting is informal and personal: “Anne and Tim.” The combination suggests a deliberate balance between official role and private identity.
Decades of Consistent Service
Anne’s approach to public duty was set early. At 19, she became President of Save the Children UK in 1970, a position she held for 47 years. Over that time she supported projects in countries including Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Bosnia, and Uganda. In September 2024, at 74, she visited Save the Children’s work in Sri Lanka, meeting pediatric specialists and families dealing with chronic childhood illness and lighting the same ceremonial oil lamp she had lit three decades earlier. The moment highlighted a rare continuity: the same patron returning to the same cause across generations.
Her links to the armed forces are equally longstanding. The November 2025 Australian tour, which preceded the Christmas card sent to Queensland, was organized around the centenary of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, founded in 1925. Princess Anne has served as its Colonel-in-Chief since 1977, representing nearly half a century of association with the Corps. Over four days, from 8 to 11 November, she carried out military engagements in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, including wreath-laying ceremonies at the Sydney War Cemetery and the Anzac Memorial. The visit underlined an ongoing commitment to military units and veterans’ organizations that predates many of the soldiers now serving.
A Family Approach to Rank and Identity
Anne’s views on titles and status have also been visible in her family life. Her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, were raised without royal titles, a choice made in agreement with their parents and the late Queen. The decision allowed them to pursue careers and family life with fewer formal expectations attached to their names, reflecting a belief that status should follow contribution, not simply inheritance.
Her professional portfolio is broad. Since undertaking her first official engagement in 1969 at the age of 18, she has completed nearly 500 overseas visits, including 49 trips to Germany, and today serves as patron or president to around 300 organizations. These range from large international aid bodies such as Save the Children to smaller charities in fields including disability support and scientific research. She rarely gives personal interviews, has no official public-facing social media presence, and tends to avoid public discussion of private challenges. Instead, her profile has been built largely through regular, low-key appearances.
Subtle Signals of a Transitioning Monarchy
Against that history, the 2025 Christmas card carries layered meaning. Across the senior royals, the trend away from handwritten signatures on cards and public documents reflects both practical security concerns and a shift in how the institution presents itself. Images now do more of the talking: a relaxed carriage ride in Sark, a state visit to Italy, a recovery moment during cancer treatment. The emphasis falls on presence, service, and shared experience, rather than on formal signatures or lengthy titles.
Princess Anne’s 2025 diary continues to expand rather than contract. In February, she took on a new position as patron of the Murrayfield Injured Players’ Foundation, adding to a roster of responsibilities that shows little sign of shrinking. For observers of the monarchy, the card signed simply “Anne and Tim” encapsulates a broader evolution: a long-serving royal who has spent decades demonstrating that authority can rest in consistency and visibility, not ceremony alone.
As the Royal Family navigates a period of generational change and public scrutiny, such gestures suggest a quieter recalibration. Formal monograms and ancient ranks still appear where required, but inside the envelope, a first name can now be enough. For Princess Anne, after more than half a century of continuous service at home and abroad, signing “Anne” signals not a rejection of duty, but a confidence that the work speaks for itself.
Sources
Princess Anne crowned ‘Hardest Working Royal’ – The Australian Women’s Weekly
Princess Anne continues streak as hardest working member of the royal family – People
Our Patron Princess Anne – Save the Children UK
Save the Children Patron Princess Anne visits charity’s work supporting children’s wellbeing in Sri Lanka – Save the Children International
Royal visit tops off signals’ centenary – Australian Department of Defence
Princess Anne is in Australia. Here is what we know of her visit – ABC News