The Princess Royal has earned herself a varying reputation through her work and private life over the years.

The Queen's only daughter is said to be the hardest working of all the royals and carries out hundreds of official engagements every year.

Like her mother, Princess Anne is also a country woman at heart with a passion for animals.

As well as dogs, she is a horse-lover and earned her a place as an Olympic horsewoman in 1976, before becoming a member of the International Olympic Committee.

'Naff off'

But the Princess Royal has also clashed with the law.

Prior to the dangerous dogs conviction, she was fined �400 in 2001 after admitting driving her Bentley at 93mph on a dual carriageway in Gloucestershire.

Cheltenham magistrates also gave her a five-point endorsement on her licence and ordered her to pay �30 costs.

According to a letter written by her solicitors she had been travelling to an engagement near Gloucester.

The Princess once rode for the British Olympic team

The 52-year-old's work ethic is one of dedication and hard work under the belief that members of the Royal Family should earn their keep.

But in her role as one of the public faces of the Royal Family she has developed a love-hate relationship with the media.

She once allegedly told photographers to "naff off" as they snapped her taking a ducking from her mount at the Badminton Horse Trials.

The media intrusion grates with her reputation as a fiercely private person - especially when newspapers reported that her marriage to former royal equerry Commodore Timothy Laurence was in trouble.

The couple, who have been married for 10 years following the Princess Royal's divorce from Captain Mark Phillips, were reported to have drifted apart and were living separate lives.

But, protecting her privacy, the princess refused to comment on the claims.

Her first marriage lasted 18 years and produced two children, Peter, now 25, and Zara, 21.

Nobel royal

However she did expose some of her personal emotions when defending allegations that the Queen had not been a caring mother.

In the interview with the BBC she also admitted that she disliked the 1970s introduction of royal walkabouts.

The Princess Royal was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

After the Queen, the British public is said to consider the princess to be the Royal Family's most valuable national asset.

She is associated with more than 200 organisations, among them the Save the Children Fund, of which she is president, and her own Princess Royal Trust for Carers, which raises awareness of the UK's estimated six million carers.

The princess's work with the Save the Children Fund prompted President Kaunda of Zambia to nominate her for the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

During her competitive horse-riding years, in 1971 the princess was nominated as Sportswoman of the Year by the Sports Writers' Association and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Birthday honour

Born Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, and recently charged under the name, she was the second child of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Just 18 months later, her mother became Queen and the family moved to Buckingham Palace.

She was taught at home in a small class by governess Catherine Peebles before going to Benenden School in Kent at the age of 13, the first sovereign's daughter to attend boarding school.

She left five years later, with six O-levels and two A-levels and instead of going to university she entered the public life of the Royal Family.

She received the title Princess Royal from The Queen in June 1987, the seventh person in history to hold the title.

In 2000, to mark her 50th birthday, the Princess Royal was appointed to the Order of the Thistle, in recognition of her work for charities.