Princess Anne is cool and collected at the Olympic Games

Princess Anne has had a stylish start to her royal duties at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. On Saturday 27 July, she attended the gold match of the men’s rugby sevens, where France came away victorious against Fiji, to the delight of the home crowd. She was also present for the Kenya v Samoa match for ninth and tenth place. 

As a member of the International Olympic Committee and president of the British Olympic Association, the Princess Royal kept things smart, wearing a sky-blue shirt, a black blazer and trousers, accessorised with some sporty sunglasses.

The Olympics are a special event for Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, as she became the first of the British royal family to compete in the Olympics, competing in a three-day equestrian event on the late Queen’s horse, Goodwill, at the 1976 Montreal Games. 

She also presented her daughter Zara Tindall with a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics for team eventing. 

Princess Anne gave a short speech to the Team GB athletes at the British Embassy on Wednesday, sharing some encouraging words. 

“I hope you will feel that this is the environment which encourages you to perform at your best, although you won’t know that until it happens, but if it’s a personal best, you can be imminently proud of what you’ve achieved because you will know you couldn’t have done any better. 

“But it is the process of getting here and some of you are getting here again and again and again and again,” Anne joked, raising a laugh. 

 The Princess Royal continued: “That is extraordinary because it requires such inspiration and innovation to maintain those levels of excellence for an Olympic Games that says something enormous about your achievements and your skills.  

“Thank you for your commitment and your support and I just wish you every bit of success and that it goes as well as you hope in every way.”