Princess Anne looking perplexed in a green jacket and floral print scarf© SAMEER AL-DOUMY

Princess Anne's fears for future at £6m home Gatcombe Park: 'I do worry'

The Princess Royal's property was gifted from her late mother Queen Elizabeth II

Homes Editor
6 hours ago

Away from her royal engagements, Princess Anne lives a quiet life at her private residence, Gatcombe Park, in Gloucestershire. The Princess Royal was gifted the property by her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, but she has admitted she worries about the future there.

In a resurfaced interview with Country Life magazine in 2009, the King's sister spoke about her life at home, where she has a working farm but she also uses the estate to host events like the Festival of British Eventing. It's this balance that's a cause of concern for the royal.

WATCH: Princess Anne appears via video link from royal home

"I do worry that one day we'll be told that we can't have organic status any more," she said. "Even picking up people’s hay and other rubbish from their (horse) lorries could threaten our organic status. And having the great British public tramping around is hardly organic,"

Despite these fears, Anne has continued to open her home to the public for events, no doubt as a source of income for the farm, a notoriously hard venture to profit from.

Gatcombe Park, Residence Of The Princess Royal And Her Family© Tim Graham, Getty
Gatcombe Park, Residence Of The Princess Royal And Her Family

Speaking to Countryfile previously, Anne spoke about her life on the farm, revealing: "This is not something that comes free, this has got to pay its way, otherwise I can't stay here."

The Princess Royal has lived at Gatcombe Park since 1976 when the Queen purchased it for her daughter and her former husband, Captain Mark Phillips.

© Barry Batchelor - PA Images
Zara Tindall showjumping in the Spring Land Rover Novice and Intermediate Event at Gatcombe Park

The Grade II-listed property is reported to have five main bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library, a billiard room and a conservatory.

© Max Mumby/Indigo
Zara Tindall lives at Gatcome Park too

Elsewhere on site, her daughter Zara Tindall lives with her husband Mike Tindall and their three children. Anne's son Peter also resides on the estate.

Princess Anne's viral living room photo

© Instagram
Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence pictured at home

While it's not very often royal fans get a glimpse inside of Princess Anne's private home, she did reveal her cosy living room at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and fans were left reeling.

Instead of impossible levels of grandeur, Anne's sitting room was revealed to be rather modest with a humble TV stand for a normal-sized screen in the corner of the room, floral sofa and armchair and a coffee table filled with books and trinkets.

"Love it, her lounge looks as cluttered as mine!!" joked one fan, and: "Not as grand as one may think," remarked another. A third echoed: "It's nice to see even the royals have cluttered living spaces."

 

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