Princess Anne adopts orphan Annie the Welsh Cob

Princess Anne with her newly-adopted pony, Annie the Welsh cob.
Image: World Horse Welfare

Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, has taken in a new lodger at her Gatcombe Park home - a rescue pony called, appropriately enough, Annie, reports Express.

According to MailOnline, the princess decided to adopt the 14-year-old horse after spotting her on an official visit to the World Horse Welfare charity in Somerset.

"With rehoming, you know much more about the animal – that must be the biggest advantage because you have got people who have worked with them and had them for long enough," Princess Anne said in a pre-recorded interview with ITV Daybreak, reports The Daily Telegraph.

"If you know what their physical limitations are, if there are any, if you know if they have any quirks, all of that is stuff that you don't normally get," she said.

"You can do a lot of awful lot good by taking a horse from rehoming, and I hope more people will at least find out what is involved because sometimes it may not be as difficult as they think."