Princess Anne has chosen to forgo public festivities for her 75th birthday, opting instead to gather more than 100 of her charitable organisations at Buckingham Palace.

The Princess Royal has declined parties and personal publicity in favour of hosting a forum for her patronages. The decision reflects her longstanding preference for focusing on charitable work rather than personal celebration.

The gathering brought together representatives from 111 organisations at the palace last Thursday. The Princess spent over two hours at the event, making an effort to shake hands with as many of the 200-plus attendees as possible whilst thanking them for their contributions.

Colonel John Boyd, the Princess's private secretary, addressed the charity representatives in the palace ballroom. He acknowledged the considerable interest in the Princess Royal's birthday celebrations before explaining her wishes.

Princess Anne has chosen to forgo public festivities for her 75th birthday, opting instead to gather more than 100 of her charitable organisations at Buckingham Palace.

"As you are aware, the Princess has given decades of time and support to more than 400 charities and patronages," he told the gathering.

He continued: "It probably won't come as a surprise, given HRH's commitment to you all, that the way the Princess wants to celebrate this milestone is to replicate what she's done on previous significant birthdays and hold this charities forum."

Boyd added the Princess wants "to once again understand how she can help you, at a time when the third sector is facing unprecedented challenges and transformations."

Following the forum, guests were invited to a private reception in the Picture Gallery, accompanied by music from the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, another of the Princess's patronages.

The Princess Royal has declined parties and personal publicity in favour of hosting a forum for her patronages. The decision reflects her longstanding preference for focusing on charitable work rather than personal celebration.

A palace source said: "This personifies what Her Royal Highness cares about. She didn't want to do anything for her birthday but bring her charities together to hear more about their work and how she can help them."

The Princess Royal, frequently recognised as the hardest-working member of the royal family, carries out more public engagements than any of her relatives. She typically receives little attention or fanfare for her extensive schedule of duties.

The Princess addressed her guests with characteristic modesty, telling them: "I'm not here because this was my choice. You very kindly asked me to become patron of your organisations, so it's an honour for me to have all of you here."

The Princess also thanked the King for allowing the use of Buckingham Palace for the event.

She spoke about "the pleasure I get from visiting and finding out a bit more about what you do" and emphasised the importance of their work.

"The responsibility and respect that you give to your own organisations and the people who work for you and your beneficiaries is perhaps the key to what makes you so important," she said. "Respect and responsibility. Thank you very much for doing what you do."

The Princess also thanked the King for allowing the use of Buckingham Palace for the event.