The Princess Royal has taken on a new patronage, weeks after dismissing any plans to retire.
Princess Anne, who turns 75 in August, has been patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986.
The royal has been a regular in the stands throughout the Six Nations tournament and rarely misses a match.
Now it’s been announced that Anne has become patron of The Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation (MIPF) – Scottish Rugby’s charity which provides support to injured players in the grassroots game in Scotland.
It was set up in 1973 – Scottish Rugby’s centenary year – and since then it has supported a number of players with short or long term injuries, by providing financial assistance.
© GettyMIPF chair, Ian Rankin said of the announcement: “The Princess Royal has been a dedicated supporter of the Scotland rugby team through umpteen swings of fortune since the 1980s, performing the official opening of Murrayfield’s East Stand in 1983 and becoming the SRU’s Patron in 1986.
“Her passion for sport, her commitment to the game at all levels, is well documented and we are honoured to have her join us as our Patron.”
© GettyAnne shared how she became patron of the Scottish Rugby Union as she appeared on her son-in-law Mike Tindall’s podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, in 2023.
“It was an accident, they asked me to go and open the East Stand [at Murrayfield Stadium] when it was built,” she said. “I had about two weeks’ notice because they had been let down, I can’t remember who by, and as it happened, the horse was lame and I wasn’t competing at the weekend, so I went. About a month later, they asked me if I wanted to become patron.”
Talking about her passion for the sport, she added: “Everything that rugby gives, I’m talking about exercise and team sports in general, but I do think rugby offers a variety of talents in one team. And you have to look out for each other and that’s a different sort of responsibility within a team structure. They’re not all the same, you can have different skills.”
© GettyScotland were pipped to the post by England in their latest Six Nations clash, defeated 15-16 at Twickenham stadium.
During an official visit to Cape Town in South Africa in January, the King’s sister was asked about her future and whether retirement was an option and replied: “It really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so.”
