Prince Charles pays tribute to Princess Anne with sweet childhood photo on her 71st birthday

Princess Anne Prince Charles
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Charles marked his sister Princess Anne's birthday on Sunday with a sweet childhood photo.

Princess Anne celebrated her 71st birthday on Sunday and to mark the occasion, her brother Prince Charles paid her a touching tribute on social media.

Prince Charles shared a black and white photo of the siblings on Instagram alongside a sweet message to his younger sister.

The photo shows a young Charles leaning over Anne in her pram, clutching her hand as she smiles at him.

A photo posted by on

The post, shared on the official Clarence House Instagram account, was captioned: "Wishing The Princess Royal a very Happy Birthday today.

"In this photo from 1951, The Prince of Wales squeezes his younger sister’s hand while sitting in their prams in the Clarence House garden."

Royal fans were quick to share their delight over the photo and send the Princess Royal their birthday wishes, with one writing: "So cute photo ❤️ Happy Birthday Princess Anne 🎂."

Another said: "Happy birthday to Princess Anne - an incredibly hardworking Royal."

Meanwhile, Princess Anne is understood to be amongst those in contention to receive Prince Philip’s former title of Captain General Royal Marines.

Prince Charles, Princess Anne and the Queen

(Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

This comes after Prince Harry, who inherited this title from his grandfather in 2017, was stripped of the prestigious military position after stepping down as a senior working royal last year.

Princess Anne is already patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and is Commodore-in-Chief of Portsmouth and has supposedly been tipped highly.

The Sunday Times stated that senior military sources allege the Princess Royal was “nailed on” as the next Captain General. The publication added that a source close to her claimed she was “very keen” to take on the role.

If Princess Anne does indeed go on to become the next Captain General Royal Marines, it would make history as the first time a woman has held the post.

It would also be a lovely way for the Princess Royal, who is 15th in line to the throne, to honour and remember her late father. The Duke of Edinburgh held the position for 64 years until he retired from public duties in 2017.

Celebrity Writer

Roxy James is a freelance Celebrity Writer at GoodTo, covering all things royal, entertainment and reality TV. Be it the latest Royal Family happenings, behind-the-scenes gossip at Strictly Come Dancing or breaking engagement, divorce or baby news - Roxy has it covered.