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Princess Anne

(76 Posts)
Cumbrianmale56 Sun 21-Sept-25 19:13:35

Has your opinion of Princess Anne improved over the years as she was known for being brusque and off hand with people when she was younger? She was my least favourite royal when I was younger, but as she's got older, she has mellowed and is well respected for her work for armed forces charities and seen as one of the most popular royals. Also someone who went through an attempted kidnap calmly has quite a strong personality.

grumppa Mon 22-Sept-25 14:28:16

Having been on the receiving end of her direct questioning approach on a couple of occasions, I can only say that I enjoyed rising to the challenge. So much better than something bland.

Jess20 Mon 22-Sept-25 14:42:12

Always rated her very highly, olympic athlete, brave, hard worker....

merlotgran Mon 22-Sept-25 15:17:49

grumppa

Having been on the receiving end of her direct questioning approach on a couple of occasions, I can only say that I enjoyed rising to the challenge. So much better than something bland.

And you lived to tell the tale, grumppa? 😂

Jaycee19 Mon 22-Sept-25 16:57:28

I have always been team Princess Anne even when most people preferred Princess Diana. I have always admired her work with Save the Children and in 1990 the President of Zambia nominated Princess Anne for the Noble Peace prize. A writer for the Daily Express who accompanied Princess Anne on one of these projects wrote that when the cameras stopped she mucked in and even dug her own latrine. A Princess to be proud of.

valdavi Mon 22-Sept-25 18:15:40

Yes, she's great. She didn't have the old Queen / Queen mother respect of protocol, she didn't have Diana's need to be loved (by the media / by the masses). But she has a very strong sense of duty, it comes through in everything she does and I think she's exceptional.

Tina1957 Mon 22-Sept-25 18:49:09

I met Princess Ann when I was in the W.R.N.S.
She was lovely and so hard working,I’m so glad I got to meet her.

butterandjam Mon 22-Sept-25 21:56:03

cc

Anniebach

In fairness Andrew like his father joined the Royal Navy and served about 20 years

I don't believe that Andrew ever "served" anything or anybody, he just looks does what he wants with as little trouble to himself as possible.

Didn't serve? In his 20 years as an RN pilot he went to war in the Falklands in a totally unprotected role (flying helicopters from an aircraft carrier) Britain lost 25 helicopters .

Dianehillbilly1957 Mon 22-Sept-25 23:08:33

If I had to choose a favourite, it would be Anne, she's quiet unassuming and hardworking, also horse mad like my, what's not to like? 😂

windmill1 Tue 23-Sept-25 01:14:35

I like that one of her trademarks is recycling items in her wardrobe and having them re-modelled and adapted. She doesn't give a stuff about being seen twice or thrice in the same outfit.

knspol Tue 23-Sept-25 08:23:58

Have always liked Anne, in fact she's the only royal I've ever liked. She manages to accept/acknowledge her position in the hierarchy and yet still lives by her own down to earth standards. She appears diligent in the extreme and worthy of respect.

Irismarle Tue 23-Sept-25 11:13:40

She is great. I met her once in Edinburgh at the RSE and she took enormous trouble to talk to every single person, however humble, like me! A wonderful ambassador for country and RF

kittylester Tue 23-Sept-25 11:56:34

I have met Princess Anne in one of my previous volunteering roles. I found her knowledgeable, thoughtful and she got the nuances of our work.

We had just moved venue and she asked if I liked the new venue. I said not as much as the old one which was Victorian rather than the new modern one. She, very nicely, pointed out that the bright new one was probably very much less scary for our clients but she thought I was up to coping.

grumppa Tue 23-Sept-25 12:21:16

Splendid coverage of Princess Anne's visit to a lingerie factory yesterday in today's D. Tel.

Menopauselbitch Tue 23-Sept-25 15:43:16

My father was a chef at the palace when they were both young. He always said Anne was amazing but he called Charles a wet fop which was strong language for my father.

Anniebach Tue 23-Sept-25 15:57:00

Shy, sensitive boys were so ridiculed, hope things have change now

Geordiegirl1 Sun 28-Sept-25 19:23:06

I remember her when she was younger, attending church at Sandringham or somewhere ( not Crathie) where the family gathered, approaching the crowd of strange people who do this sort of thing saying ‘ Why on earth do you come here? Haven’t you got homes to go to?’ - reported as ‘rude Princess Anne’. But I thought, she genuinely doesn’t understand - and neither do I. I don’t know her or any of them and I think they are pretty much an irrelevance.

Iam64 Sun 28-Sept-25 20:28:20

I always admired what I saw as her independent spirit, alongside which she did her job

I really admired her ability with horses. You don’t get to compete at the Olympics because you’re an HRH you compete, succeed and qualify.

I also like the way she raised her children and now they’re following on, members of the royal family but more grounded and able to mix with ordinary folk . I hope William develops this.

Usedtobeblonde Sun 28-Sept-25 20:52:42

I totally agree with her if she did say such things to the crowd.
I have never been able to understand why anyone would leave their home on Christmas Day to watch another family attend a Church service.
They should be at home , opening presents, eating chocolate and getting the turkey in the oven.
Absolute madness to me.

Allira Sun 28-Sept-25 20:58:42

Anniebach

Shy, sensitive boys were so ridiculed, hope things have change now

Yes, there's nothing wrong with men being thoughtful, sensitive and aware of nature and the environment.

wet fop Whatever that means, menopausalbitch

Deedaa Sun 28-Sept-25 21:02:48

I remember in the days when Anne was doing a lot of work for Save The Children, and Diana was being photographed hugging children all round the world, Anne remarked that you didn't have to go ga ga over children to believe that they deserved a decent start in life and a safe childhood.

Iam64 Sun 28-Sept-25 21:03:57

And your point is Deedaa?

Curlywhirly Sun 28-Sept-25 21:31:11

My husband once worked with chaps who maintained the royal residences. They said that Princess Anne was the nicest of the Royals, very down to earth and not at all aloof. I met Princess Anne last year when she came to the Charity Shop I volunteer at (she's patron of our charity) she was lovely and spoke to every one of our 40 volunteers. I spoke to her lady in waiting and she said she had 3 such visits scheduled that day. I believe she's the busiest of all the royals.

Michael12 Mon 29-Sept-25 05:31:23

Before I took early retirement from the MoD , she visited the place where I worked .
She did a tour and did a building but looked very relaxed as well, she had even driven there in a range rover , but also did another place as well.
Mick

OldFrill Mon 29-Sept-25 09:06:27

Deedaa

I remember in the days when Anne was doing a lot of work for Save The Children, and Diana was being photographed hugging children all round the world, Anne remarked that you didn't have to go ga ga over children to believe that they deserved a decent start in life and a safe childhood.

Yes, I think she can be quite snide.

Anniebach Mon 29-Sept-25 09:13:42

So unlike Anne to give such interviews sniping at a member of the family ,