Princess Anne has an unusual rule around celebrating her birthdays, that the royal family has to follow(Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

As Princess Anne celebrates her 75th birthday today, she will not be expecting balloons, cake and fanfare from the royal family, at her own request.

Due to an unusual self-imposed rule the Princess Royal adheres to, her 75th birthday will be a low-key event that will ensure “no-frills” from the Firm, as she reserves big celebrations for milestone birthdays only.

Princess Anne will also not be having a large party to celebrate the day, instead choosing to mark her birthday earlier this year as she brought representatives from more than 300 charities and organisations she supports together for a special forum at Buckingham Palace . It comes after Kate halted her summer break to release a new video with emotional statement.

Princess Anne has a rule against celebrating birthdays outside of major milestones(Image: (Image: GETTY))

In Anne’s true understated style, she has opted out of a large family gathering for her birthday, as expert Roya Nikkhah revealed her unusual rule on the Royals with Roya and Kate podcast. Roya claims that the Princess Royal has a ‘no-frills’ approach to her birthdays which means she only celebrates major milestones.

‘Anne’s policy is: “I will do things for my birthdays that have a zero, but I won’t do things for my birthdays that have a five,”‘ Roya said.

She added Anne has reportedly cancelled meetings in the run up to the big day to avoid discussions about how she might mark her 75th.

Anne was unfortunately forced to cancel her last major birthday celebration in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, when she celebrated her 70th birthday.

A new photo released to mark Princess Anne’s 75th birthday(Image: PA)

At the time, the Daily Mail reported Anne had been due to celebrate her 70th with a gathering hosted by her mother Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Instead, The Princess Royal marked the occasion with a sailing trip around the west coast of Scotland with her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.

The late Queen also hosted a secret, socially-distanced lunch with her daughter at Frogmore House – an empty private royal residence on her Berkshire estate – to mark the occasion. No other members of the Royal Family were present, and only minimal staff – who were part of the Queen’s castle ‘bubble’ at the time – attended the event.

Anne’s next milestone birthday will be her 80th in 2030 and, according to Roya, Anne plans to start “winding down” her royal duties after that.