Princess Anne is getting a special documentary for her 70th birthday. ITV will reportedly broadcast the show ahead of her actual birthday on Aug. 15.
According to Variety, Queen Elizabeth's only daughter will be the feature of a 90-minute documentary, titled Princess Royal: Anne at 70, that will provide "unprecedented behind-the-scenes access" into her life as a public servant, daughter of the monarch, mother and grandmother. The film on Princess Anne will reportedly feature never-before-seen family footage and conversations with the royal family.
Princess Anne's children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, will be appearing in the documentary as well, along with her husband Tim Laurence and friends who will be talking about the Princess Royal in public for the first time. The special documentary will also highlight her life's high and lows, including her kidnapping attempt, which made headlines in 1974.
According to People, some of her old school friends will also be featured in the documentary. They will recall their time with the Princess Royal, who apparently wanted to be "just one of the girls" in school despite her pedigree.
Viewers will also get a glimpse of Princess Anne's routines outside of her royal work, including her time with her grandchildren. She has four granddaughters -- Savannah, Mia Grace, Isla and Lena Elizabeth - who are all below 10 years old.
Ian Denyer directed Princess Royal: Anne at 70, which was prepared for over a year. Producers said that it will be a fascinating tribute to a royal who will be having a landmark birthday.
Often dubbed as the "hardest working royal," Princess Anne is quite the private person despite her very public family. According to reports, the Princess Royal is usually reluctant to have the media cover her activities behind the scenes and she once publicly spoke about never liking the idea of filming the royal family.
Princess Anne said that the infamous 1969 royal family documentary for BBC brought so much attention that it was actually a "rotten" concept. She said that the last thing they needed was to give the public more access to their personal lives. That documentary has actually been removed from the archives and has never been re-aired due to the backlash it received.
But public access is still part and parcel of their work as members of the royal family. Thus, it was a good thing she agreed to this new documentary. The special will air in the U.K. but ITV has not yet announced the actual date.
