Princess Anne: Queen Elizabeth II’s loyal daughter

AFP | by Robin MILLARD

Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter Princess Anne rarely lets her emotions show but the grief was etched on her face as she accompanied her mother’s coffin.

With her elder brother King Charles III called away to duty, the queen’s second child accompanied their mother’s coffin on its journey through Scotland and back to London.

Anne, 72, was with Queen Elizabeth on Thursday when she passed away aged 96 after seven decades on the throne.

“I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother’s life,” Anne said in a statement Tuesday.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.

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“To my mother, The Queen, thank you.”

Anne travelled with the cortege on the six-hour drive from Balmoral to Edinburgh on Sunday.

She curtseyed as soldiers carried the casket into the monarch’s official Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Anne stood guard at the coffin alongside her siblings at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday.

And the princess flew with the casket from the Scottish capital to London on Tuesday.

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Anne’s role may now change depending on whether Charles, 73, pursues a slimmed-down monarchy. But he may find his closest sibling a rock of support as he adjusts to his new role.

Anne said she was “grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of the monarch”.

Learning the hard way

Anne has earned a reputation as the hardest-working royal, squeezing in a career as an Olympic horse rider alongside a lifetime of public engagements.

Cast much in the same plain-speaking mould as her late father Prince Philip, Anne is reported to have once described herself as “not everyone’s idea of a fairy-tale princess”.

“You learn the hard way,” she said. “There isn’t a school for royalty.”

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She never sought to please the press, saying she did not “do stunts” and once told photographers to “naff off”.

In 1974, she was the target of a kidnap attempt when her car was ambushed. Two police officers, her chauffeur and a passer-by were shot and wounded.

An account released by the National Archives said assailant Ian Ball pointed his gun at Anne and said: “I want you to come with me for a day or two, because I want £2 million.

“Will you get out of the car?”

The princess replied curtly: “Not bloody likely — and I haven’t got £2 million.”

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Anne stuck to a mixture of classic chic and casual, keeping her voluminous, up-do hair style throughout her adult life.

She adopted a business-like demeanour that sometimes meant she came across as frosty, and resulted in her sharp, dry sense of humour often being mistaken.

Gifted horse rider

Born on August 15, 1950, Anne was taught at Buckingham Palace before beginning boarding school in 1963.

She inherited her mother’s passion for horses and the young princess became a skilled equestrian.

Anne won the 1971 European Eventing Championship and the British public voted her that year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

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“I certainly saw it as a way of proving that you had something that was not dependent on your family and it was down to you to succeed or fail,” she said of her horse riding career.

She married equestrian Mark Phillips in 1972. The wedding was an international event watched by an estimated 500 million people.

Anne represented Britain at the Montreal 1976 Olympics, returning without a medal after a particularly nasty fall.

She became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1988 and was on the organising committee for the London 2012 Games.

Anne and her army officer first husband had two children — sports events managing director Peter and 2006 eventing world champion Zara.

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Breaking with tradition, the couple decided Phillips should not accept a title so their children would be free to determine their own lives.

Divorce and remarriage

Anne was granted the title of Princess Royal, traditionally given to the monarch’s eldest daughter, in 1987.

She split from Phillips in 1989 and the couple divorced in 1992.

Nine months later, Anne married naval commander Timothy Laurence, a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth.

Anne supports more than 300 charities, organisations and military regiments, including an association with Save the Children that has lasted more than 50 years.

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She regularly tops the charts for conducting the most royal engagements, and writes her own speeches.

U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.

The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.

The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.

“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

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International

Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.

“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.

Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.

According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.

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International

Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power

Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.

The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.

Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.

Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.

The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.

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Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.

Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.

In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.