The Princess Royal has just confirmed one of the worst kept of all royal secrets – she can’t see herself ever stopping work.

Princess Anne said that stepping away from royal duties had never crossed her mind, noting that ”I don’t think there’s a retirement programme on this particular life.”

The comments came as she was asked about her plans for the future following an accident last summer which left her in hospital for five days.

Speaking to the Press Association during her recent trip to South Africa, the Princess said she remembered nothing of the incident which resulted in her suffering concussion and head injuries.

Doctors said her injuries were consistent with contact from a horse’s legs or head but Princess Anne noted ‘‘I know where I thought I was going and that was to go to the chickens, no, nothing to do with horses.”

The Princess said there was no lasting impact from the accident but gave another indication of how serious things might have been as she added ”you’re jolly lucky….if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis and last summer I was very close to not being.…you are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus really.”

Asked then if she would ever retire, she replied ”it really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so.”

Princess Anne had to take several weeks away from engagements after the accident but was soon back to full speed and she regularly tops the tally for annual royal duties.

The Princess will be 75 in August this year but clearly has no plans to change as that milestone birthday approaches.

Her visit to South Africa was the first overseas trip carried out by a member of the Royal Family in 2025.