Princess Anne's decision not to give her children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, royal titles was seen as highly unconventional at the time - but decades later, her children couldn't be more grateful.
While their cousins, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Prince William and Prince Harry, all grew up with HRH status, Peter and Zara navigated life as private citizens, despite being the late Queen Elizabeth II's eldest grandchildren.
So, why exactly are Peter and Zara not a Prince and Princess? The answer comes down to a mix of a centuries-old royal tradition and a definitive choice made by their parents.
According to strict royal protocol, when a member of the royal family has a child, only the father may pass on his title. This means the only princes and princesses in the family have fathers in the direct line of succession.
This is why King Charles III and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could grant their children titles, but Princess Anne could not automatically pass her royal ranking onto her children.
© Mark CuthbertZara and Peter's father Captain Mark Phillips is not a member of the royal family, and he declined the offer of an earldom, so the children were not given titles from birth.
This is the reason why the late Queen's two oldest sons, King Charles III and Andrew, have been able to grant their children the titles of prince and princesses, while Princess Anne's children – despite being in line to the throne – did not inherit royal rankings.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2020, Princess Anne reflected upon the decision not to grant her children titles: "I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles… So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
Back in December 2023, Zara publicly thanked her for not giving her a royal title. Speaking on Seven: Rob Burrow, The Total Sport Podcast, she said: "From my point of view, I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn't give us any titles so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do it a bit our own way."
© GettyShe continued: "My family has a great work ethic as well which I'm hoping they instilled in me and is still going to this day.
"Hopefully, we can pass it onto our kids. Now, my brother and my cousins love to go back and do the same things and I hope that our children have the same experiences that we did when we were growing up. You don't really appreciate that until you're older and you've got kids."
Living without royal titles may have been a blessing in disguise for Peter and Zara who have been offered more freedom to dictate their careers. For example, Zara pursued a career as a professional British equestrian and Olympian.
© Chris JacksonWho is Zara's brother Peter Phillips?
Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, welcomed their eldest son Peter in November 1977 at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, making him the Queen's first grandchild.
Peter is currently 19th in line to the throne behind his mother. Peter ended up working for Jaguar Racing before becoming the director of a sports management company.
