Princess Anne's strict birthday rule that means she won't be celebrating today

Princess Anne's strict birthday rule that means she won't be celebrating today Princess Anne is celebrating her 76th birthday today, but the Princess Royal will not be expecting balloons, cake and fanfare from the Royal Family, at her own request As Princess Anne marks her 76th birthday today, she seemingly won't be expecting balloons, cake or fanfare from the Royal Family — and it's believed that's entirely by her own choice. Thanks to an unusual self-imposed rule that the Princess Royal follows, her 76th is expected to be a decidedly low-key affair, with absolutely "no-frills" from the Firm, as she reserves grand celebrations solely for milestone birthdays. Anne will also be forgoing a lavish party, as she spends quality time with her family. In years past, she has decided to use her birthday to honour charities and organisations that she has supported for decades. True to her characteristically understated nature, she has opted against a large family gathering, as royal expert Roya Nikkhah revealed her peculiar birthday rule on the Royals with Roya and Kate podcast. Last year ahead of Anne's 75th birthday, Roya claimed the Princess Royal adopts a 'no-frills' approach to her birthdays, meaning she only marks the truly significant milestones. 'Anne's policy is: "I will do things for my birthdays that have a zero, but I won't do things for my birthdays that have a five,"' Roya said, as she went on to explain how Anne had reportedly cancelled meetings in the lead-up to the big day last year, keen to sidestep any discussions about how she might celebrate her 75th birthday. Anne was sadly forced to abandon her last major birthday celebration in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to her 70th birthday plans. At the time, the Daily Mail reported that Anne had been due to mark her 70th with a celebration hosted by her mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, at Buckingham Palace. Instead, The Princess Royal chose to commemorate the occasion with a sailing trip along the west coast of Scotland alongside her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. The late Queen also arranged a private, socially-distanced lunch with her daughter at Frogmore House - a vacant private royal residence on her Berkshire estate - to honour the milestone. No other members of the Royal Family were in attendance, with only a handful of staff - who formed part of the Queen's castle 'bubble' at the time - present at the gathering. Anne's next landmark birthday will be her 80th in 2030 and, according to Roya, Anne plans to begin "winding down" her royal duties following that milestone. The royal insider said: "I was told that she's told her team: 'I'm going to start winding down a little bit at 80, in five years' time, and then I want to step back completely at 90'." The expert further suggested that Anne will likely follow the example set by her late father, Prince Philip, who retired from official royal engagements at the age of 96.