How Princess Anne carries her own luggage, refuses special privileges and even says no to help when she falls over! Inside the life of Britain’s hardest working – and most down to earth – royal

For many years, Princess Anne has been the nation’s no-nonsense royal.

The petite 73-year-old typically would not act as if she is a member of the Royal Household – she competed within the Olympics and nonetheless shamelessly wears her favorite Crew GB mirrored sun shades.

The Princess Royal additionally famously informed her would-be kidnapper that it was ‘not bloody seemingly’ she would get out of the automobile, despite the fact that he had a pistol.

However Anne’s dry wit – which she seemingly inherited from her father Prince Philip – is what makes her one of many nation’s favorite royals, as an approval score of 71 per cent proves. 

She can also be the toughest working member of the Royal Household, with latest figures displaying how she has carried out a 3rd of all engagements this 12 months.  

Listed below are the long-lasting moments which have made Anne the ‘regular’ princess we all know and love. 

Carrying baggage

Anne has been dubbed a ‘boss girl’ on social media for carrying her personal baggage, regardless of having loads of alternatives to dump her baggage on another person.

This un-royal choice will be dated again to her attendance on the Olympics Video games in Montreal in 1976.

On the age of 25, Anne was the primary royal to ever compete within the Olympics as a member of the British Equestrian Crew, using the Queen’s horse Goodwill for the event.

The Princess Royal was pictured carrying her personal baggage as she arrived in Canada in entrance of her then husband Mark Phillips.

Extra not too long ago, the King’s sister carried her personal baggage while travelling to Sri Lanka in January.

Anne broke royal norms by insisting on travelling by business airline and boarding the airplane in a relaxed camel-coloured wrap with no make-up on – a good choice for a 12-hour flight.

When she arrived in Sri Lanka, the Princess Royal had swapped her comfortable outfit for a sensible blue shirt and her trademark sporty sun shades.

Regardless of the glamorous crimson carpet that welcomed her, Anne lugged her personal three baggage down the steps to the runway.

The 73-year-old did not even attain for the railing to regular herself happening the steps. 

Driving

Though Princess Anne could possibly be pushed wherever in a personal automobile, she likes to driver herself round.

When attending the Cheltenham Races in 2008, Anne revealed that in her automobile door she retains solely the necessities – a bottle of water, a Barbara Dickson CD and her race card.

However the Princess Royal can drive greater than only a automobile. 

When requested by Terry Wogan what she would do if the Royal Household have been abolished, the Princess nonchalantly replied that she’d merely should ‘work even more durable on the farm.’

She then revealed that ‘out of necessity’ she certified as a ‘heavy items car driver.’

Anne’s want for velocity has seen her rack up quite a few fines – she was even banned from driving for a month in 1990.

Sense of humour 

Anne is understood to have a laid-back sense of humour. 

Whereas showing on I am a Celeb, Get Me Out of Right here, Anne’s son-in-law Mike Tindall confirmed this reality. 

Explaining a relatively embarrassing encounter with the Princess, he talked about dancing too vigorously throughout Zara Tindall’s birthday.

He stated: ‘Ripped my trousers, straight in entrance of her. It occurred to be that my boxers that I had on at the moment stated ‘nibble my nuts.”

The Princess calmly quipped again: ‘I would relatively not.’

Anne additionally deploys her dry wit round the remainder of her household.

The Channel 4 documentary referred to as A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets and techniques revealed that Anne as soon as gave her brother Charles a white leather-based bathroom seat as a present.

The hidden message behind the relatively potty current? Anne was merely giving her brother, the longest-serving monarch-in-waiting in British historical past, an opportunity to ascend to the ‘throne’.

Within the documentary former royal butler Paul Burrell famous: ‘In fact, the royals love lavatorial humour.’

Refusing assist 

When Anne slipped and fell throughout a royal go to in Guernsey in 2007, she dismissed any supply of assist, picked herself up and carried on her method.

Anne may even be heard telling off the island’s bailiff Geoffrey Rowland for attempting to help. 

Shooing him away, she firmly stated: ‘Do not try this’.

Whereas different members of the royal household have their each want catered to, it’s clear that Princess Anne is blissful to take care of herself.

She has been pictured queuing as much as purchase her personal espresso at a number of totally different occasions together with the Whatley Manor Worldwide Horse Trials in 2011.

Spending time with grandchildren 

Princess Anne is taken into account one of many hardest working royals – recurrently attending tons of of engagements every year.

However with 5 grandchildren, Anne recurrently takes time to calm down together with her household.

The Princess has been pictured enjoying together with her grandchildren at numerous public-facing occasions, even stopping to kick a ball for Mia Tindall to play with on the Beaufort Polo Membership in 2016.

Anne appears to have discovered true happiness in spending time with the children. 

Though the princess was as soon as identified for her furrowed forehead and stern expression, Anne now cracks jokes and pulls foolish faces in public to entertain the kids.

A royal supply stated: ‘Anne is hands-on as a grandmother, and the older they get, the extra she shall be. Driving classes, crusing classes; she’ll instruct the ladies in this stuff and extra. She admires braveness however is totally not afraid to self-discipline the ladies with a pointy phrase.’

It is all very a lot in line with how Peter, 38, and Zara, 34, have been raised. 

Anne declined to provide them titles or something resembling a royal life, and made them assist with chores from cooking to mucking out horses.

Re-using garments 

You would maybe forgive a royal for being glib with their possessions and refusing to put on the identical outfit twice.

However eagle-eyed followers have famous that Anne doesn’t assume twice about re-using her garments. 

She has owned one blue fur-lined coat for over 5 a long time, carrying it out on Christmas Day in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2012.

Anne was additionally noticed re-wearing a sublime turquoise gown to attend the second day of the Royal Ascot in 2023.

She first wore the piece  as she and the late Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Botswana’s president Sir Seretse Kham and his spouse Girl Khama at Buckingham Palace 45 years in the past in 1978.

The Princess Royal wore her previous gown to attend the second day of the Royal Ascot.

And Anne has a number of pairs of mirrored sun shades however her pair from Adidas – branded with the Crew GB emblem – is on common rotation, showcasing her choice for practicality above all. 

Function within the Queen’s funeral

The Princess Royal was hailed by royal insiders because the ‘unsung hero’ of the late Queen’s funeral proceedings. 

Princess Anne was by her mom’s facet when she died at Balmoral and accompanied her coffin on a six-hour lengthy automobile trip to Edinburgh.

Anne was the primary girl ever to partake within the Vigil of the Princes, standing alongside her brothers as they guarded the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Corridor.