Featured Image Credit: Hoda Davaine/Getty Images
Topics: Royal Family, UK News
Rhianna Benson
Today (15 Aug) marks a very special day for the Princess Royal.
As well as the British monarchy celebrating her 75th birthday with a sweet new tribute, the mother-of-two has also found herself at the centre of a passionate royal debate online.
For those in need of a reminder, Princess Anne is the second eldest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, born at Clarence House in London in 1950, during the reign of her maternal grandfather, King George VI.
As such, she's the younger sister of the UK's current ruler, King Charles III, and elder sister of both Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh. She's also mother to both Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall.
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Long nicknamed the 'hardest working royal' - consistently topping the list of official royal engagements carried out each year - Princess Anne has forever been a firm favourite among supporters of the institution.
So much so that as she celebrates her 75th birthday this week, a number of social media users have raised an important question about her birthright.
The debate was sparked in the comments to a tribute the King and his wife, Queen Camilla, shared in her honour online earlier today.
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Uploading a snap of the Princess Royal's official new portrait, the ruling couple captioned it: "75 today! Thank you for all of your kind birthday wishes for The Princess this week."
As we say, a number of Anne-fans took issue with one specific issue with the post - the description of her as a 'Princess'.
In fact, several even went on to question why it couldn't have been Anne born first - no offence, Charles.
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"If only she was Queen," one penned in the comments.
Another agreed, writing: "Personally I think Princess Anne would have made a better Monarch than King Charles. What do you think?"
"Happy Birthday princess Anne!" a third continued. "It’s a pity she wasn’t queen- she would have been memorable."
"The monarchy and the country would be in a much better place if Princess Anne were Queen," gushed another.
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A fifth continued: "Happy Birthday - HRH Princess Royal Anne. Happy 75th , you shod have been Queen of the UK."
Despite these wishes, the sad reality is that, realistically, Princess Anne could never have been a queen in her own right.
Not only was this because Charles was the family's firstborn, but also because Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were placed ahead of her in the line of succession due to an outdated rule called male-preference primogeniture.
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This law - which favoured sons over daughters, regardless of birth order - remained in place until 2013, when the Succession to the Crown Act was signed.
Despite this, however, so as not to complicate things, the new ruling only applies to royals born after October 28, 2011.
So, being that the Princess Royal currently sits 16th in line to the throne - behind Charles, Prince William, his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, Prince Harry and his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as well as several others - unless there's a sudden series of abdications, deaths, or removals from the throne, Anne will never be Queen.
Sorry, guys.