King Charles and Queen Camilla Wish Princess Anne a Happy 76th Birthday
King Charles and Queen Camilla marked Princess Anne's 76th birthday on Saturday 15 August 2026 with a public message on the British royal family's official social media channels.
The message, posted to the family's official Instagram account, read: "Wishing a Happy Birthday to the Princess Royal" — accompanied by a birthday cake emoji. The title Princess Royal is the style traditionally held by the monarch's eldest daughter; Anne was awarded it by her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1987. Hello!
The photograph chosen for the post was not a formal portrait. It showed Anne smiling as she shook hands with Scotland rugby captain Sione Tuipulotu at the Six Nations in March 2026. The match was played at the stadium in Edinburgh, and Anne was dressed in purple tartan. She was there not as a spectator in the ordinary sense but as patron of the Scottish Rugby Union — a role she has held since 1986, making her one of the longest-serving patrons in the sport's governing body.
On that day in Edinburgh, Anne presented Tuipulotu with the Calcutta Cup after Scotland beat England. The Calcutta Cup is the trophy contested annually by England and Scotland in rugby union's Six Nations championship, and as patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, Anne was on hand to award it. Hello!
The choice of a rugby photograph over a ceremonial image fits the way the household has presented Anne's public role: engaged with the institutions she supports rather than positioned at a distance from them.
Behind the public post, reports published a day earlier suggested that Charles's personal birthday gift to his sister could carry "enormous emotional significance." Woman & Home The same reports said Anne has grown closer to her brother since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. These claims rest on unnamed royal sources and have not been confirmed by the household.
Anne, the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, has long been regarded as one of the hardest-working members of the royal family. Her patronage portfolio spans hundreds of organisations, and the Court Circular — the official daily record of royal engagements — consistently places her among the most active royals by number of public duties performed each year.
Saturday's birthday message from the King and Queen was brief, warm, and public — a social media post of six words and an emoji, paired with a photograph that captured Anne doing what she has done for four decades: turning up, handing over the trophy, and getting on with it.
