EXCLUSIVE: A former member of royal staff has revealed what he thinks Princess Anne’s retirement will be like.

The Princess Royal is known as one of the hardest working royals (Image: Victoria Jones-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Princess Anne is celebrating her 76th birthday today and will hopefully enjoy a restful day with family and friends. The Princess Royal, often dubbed the hardest-working royal in the Firm, is likely to be spending the day away from royal duty and instead with her loved ones.

Since she turned 75 last year, questions have been raised about whether Anne will ever retire from royal duty. At the moment, the King’s sister still carries out a jam-packed schedule of royal engagements, both in the UK and abroad. However, while she is already beyond the age most people retire, one former royal butler who knew Anne behind closed doors has predicted what her “retirement plans” will look like.

Speaking on behalf of OLBG, former royal butler Grant Harrold told the Daily Express exclusively: “I don’t think she will ever retire. I think it’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever see Princess Anne completely retire from public life.

“I imagine she’ll probably be similar to the Duke of Kent in that respect.

“Even though obviously he doesn’t do as much as he once did, we still see him out and about occasionally, and he’s still very much involved when he wants to be.

“He’s in his 90s now, so I can imagine Princess Anne being very much the same.”

Princess Anne takes her royal duties seriously (Image: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)

He continued: “I think she’ll continue working for as long as she feels able to, and then perhaps gradually take a step back rather than suddenly stop altogether.

“I certainly don’t see her retiring in the traditional sense. I think she’ll always want to have a role and to keep contributing in some way.”

The King’s sister has been asked about retirement before, and was quick to shut down the idea that she will retire.

She told PA when asked about retirement: “It isn’t really an option. It really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so.”