Princess Anne, still feisty and no-nonsense at 50

The favourite child of her blunt-spoken father Prince Philip, she does not suffer fools gladly, haughtily dismissing tabloids who treat the royal family as a soap opera.

She once told photographers to go away with the famous command "Naff Orf" and, despite prying media eyes, was the first major British royal since the 16th century’s Henry VIII to divorce, remarry and maintain her dignity.

Truck drivers voted her the woman they would most like to share a cab with. Her equestrian prowess is legendary and she once confessed "When I appear, people expect me to neigh, grind my teeth and swish my tail."

Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter marked her half century in typically no-nonsense fashion with the release of informal photo portraits.

That was it — no fanfare, no big party, no commemorative stamps. It was all in sharp contrast to the outpouring of affection that greeted the 100th birthday earlier this month of her grandmother, the Queen Mother.

Princess Anne was once the royal that everyone loved to hate — brusque, offhand and intolerant.

Now, after a lifetime of behind-the-scenes charity work and 500 official engagements a year, she is hailed for having a warm heart behind an icy image.

Not for her the heart-on-your-sleeve approach of "People’s Princess" Diana whose charity work was staged under the media spotlight.

Nor did she go in for the type of high-profile marriage break-ups played out by her brothers Charles and Andrew amid tabloid tales of adultery and deception.

She seemed to have little time for her sisters-in-law Diana and Sarah, Duchess of York, and complained bitterly of the public’s desire for "trivia and gossip".

Anne virtually never gives interviews, complaining bluntly "Why do people try to put words into your mouth and re-interpret the straightforward things you have said."

Anne, certainly no high flyer at her private girls school, shared with former husband Captain Mark Phillips a mutual passion for equestrian Sports. Not exactly renowned for his soaring intellect, Phillips was nicknamed "Foggy" by Anne’s brother Charles.

They had two children — Peter, best known for his rugby prowess, and Zara, the first royal to sport a pierced tongue with a stud.

In 1974, Anne and Mark escaped a kidnap attempt when gunman Ian Ball leapt in front of their car on the way back to Buckingham Palace. Her chauffeur, personal detective and a policeman were wounded in the attack.

Anne’s marriage — her wedding was watched on television by 500 million people around the world — ended after 18 years in an amicable divorce. She then married Commander Tim Laurence, her mother’s equerry.

She rode for Britain in the three-day equestrian event atthe 1976 Montreal Olympics. She won the European championships in front of her mother. She is now one of Britain’s two delegates on the International Olympic Committee.

And her impatience with the prying lens has never subsided.

As flashbulbs popped on a tricky cross-country course, she complained: "It is difficult to control the horse at the best of times. and the horse is about the only person who does not know you are royal."

"You are pests by the very nature of the cameras in your hand," she told paparazzi. And she frostily castigated one overly friendly "over ‘ere luv" greeting with a firm putdown: "I’m not your love, I’m your royal highness."