Princess Anne's 'No-Frills' Birthday Rule: Royal Family Gets Five-Year Warning!

The Unconventional Royal: Princess Anne's Secret Birthday Rules and Her Children's Scandalous Upbringings

Tomorrow, a very special royal turns 75 - but don't expect any lavish celebrations! The Princess Royal, Anne, has an unusual rule when it comes to her birthdays, and it might just mean the Windsors will have to skip the cake and balloons.

This isn't the only unconventional thing about Anne's life as a working royal. She's always been known for breaking with tradition, but this latest revelation is truly shocking. According to insider Roya Nikkhah, who appeared on the popular podcast Royals with Roya and Kate, Anne has a strict "no-frills" approach to her birthdays.

The Princess Royal's policy is simple: she only celebrates major milestones, which are marked by a zero in their age. So, if it's a birthday that ends in a five, forget it! No big bash for you, Your Highness. Roya claims Anne has even gone so far as to cancel meetings in the run-up to her special day to avoid discussing how she'll mark it.

It gets even more intriguing - or should we say, scandalous? Five years ago, The Scholarly Note reported that Anne was due to celebrate a milestone birthday with a soiree hosted by her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Buckingham Palace. But instead of the fancy party, the Princess Royal chose to mark the occasion in style on a sailing trip around the west coast of Scotland with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.

And that's not all - it was also reported that the late Queen hosted a secret, socially distanced lunch with her daughter at Frogmore House, an empty private royal residence on her Berkshire estate. The event was so hush-hush that only minimal staff attended, and none of the other members of the Royal Family were present.

But what about Anne's children? You'd think they'd have grown up surrounded by all things royal, but surprisingly, not exactly! When Princess Anne gave birth to her first child, Peter Phillips, in 1977, she made a groundbreaking decision - he wouldn't receive a title. Yes, you read that right - no prince or duke for this young man!

According to royal insider Brian Hoey, Anne believed "in this day and age, a title would be more of a hindrance than an advantage as her children try to make their way in the world." And it's easy to see why. The rest of the Royal Family was shocked by the decision, especially Queen Elizabeth II, who had been keen for Peter to receive a title.

In fact, Anne's decision was so out of character that it left everyone wondering if she'd lost her royal touch. But as Brian Hoey writes in his biography of Princess Anne, "Anne did not change her mind on the matter and eventually gave birth to two more children without them receiving titles either."

So what about Peter's upbringing? As it turns out, he didn't exactly have a traditional royal childhood. After his birth, Princess Anne resumed her duties as a working member of the royals, leaving their nanny to care for the young prince. And when it came time for school, Peter and his sister were sent off to Gordonstoun, just like their grandfather Philip and three uncles.

As one insider put it, "Not exactly a run-of-the-mill commoner" - a fair point, given that their grandparents are Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip!

But Anne's unconventional approach to raising her children didn't stop there. When her daughter Zara was born in 1981, she broke convention again by giving her an unusual name - Zara, not a typical royal moniker at all.

And as for what kind of upbringing Princess Anne gave her children? Well, it's safe to say they had the best of both worlds. While their cousins continued on with their roles as working royals, Peter and Zara forged successful careers in the private sector.

Peter worked his way up from Formula One hospitality manager to sponsorship accounts manager for Williams racing team. He even had a stint at the Royal Bank of Scotland before moving into various other jobs in the private sector.

And then there's Zara - equestrian extraordinaire! She represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics and won a silver medal in the equestrian team eventing, a feat that hadn't been achieved by her father or uncle since 1972.

So what does this say about Princess Anne? One thing is for sure - she's always been a trailblazer. From becoming the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Montreal Olympics to giving her children non-traditional upbringings, Anne has never been one to follow the crowd.

And when it comes to her own life and duties as a working royal? Well, Princess Anne shows no signs of slowing down just yet - she's still got 20,000 engagements under her belt throughout her adult life!

But what about the future? According to Roya Nikkhah, Princess Anne plans to start "winding down" her royal duties at 80, and then step back completely at 90. This might just be a clever move - after all, as one insider points out, her late father, Prince Philip, stepped back from public life completely at 96.

So there you have it - Princess Anne's unconventional approach to birthdays, motherhood, and royal duty is truly the stuff of fairy tales (or should we say, scandals?).