Princess Anne's Battery

Princess Anne's Battery
Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar
Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar
One of four guns at Princess Anne's Battery, with the Rock in background
Diagram of Princess Anne's Battery with north to the left A-Gun 1, B-Gun 2, C and D-Gun 3, E-Gun 4
Princess Anne's Battery
Coordinates	36°08′46″N 5°20′48″W / 36.145982°N 5.346789°W / 36.145982; -5.346789
Type	Artillery Battery
Site information
Condition	Good
Site history
Built	1732 (1732)
In use	Decommissioned late 20th Century

Princess Anne's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above Princess Caroline's Battery. It was named after Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the eldest daughter of George II. However, its name is often confused with those of other batteries in the area. In 1732, guns were first mounted on the battery, which also saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. Princess Anne's Battery was updated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the latter modernisation entailing the installation of four QF 5.25 inch guns with both anti-aircraft and coastal defence capabilities. The battery was manned into the early 1980s, after which it was decommissioned. The guns were refurbished in the early twenty-first century, and represent the world's only intact battery of 5.25 inch anti-aircraft guns. Princess Anne's Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

Princess Anne's Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. The artillery battery is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below the Great Siege Tunnels and above Princess Caroline's Battery. It overlooks Spain, Gibraltar International Airport, and the Bay of Gibraltar. The site was initially known as the 3rd Willis's Battery. It was renamed after Anne, Princess Royal (1709 – 1759), the eldest daughter of King George II, also known as Princess Anne of Orange following her marriage to William IV, Prince of Orange. The battery's position off Willis's Road near Princess Caroline's Battery is thought to be responsible for it frequently being mistaken for that battery. It is also sometimes referred to as St. Anne's Battery, or confused with Princess Amelia's Battery or Princess Royal's Battery, with the first a misnomer and the latter two in close proximity to the Princess Anne's Battery site.