Princess Anne, known to be a no-nonsense royal and a hardcore follower of the royal protocol, seem to have left an impression on a young lad, something he still remembers to this day.
The Palace is currently embroiled in a tricky situation to settle the onslaught of the Diana memoir published by Charles Spencer. Reports have suggested that aides had “intervened” to “tone down” the reaction of the fuming King.
Now, it seems that the Princess Royal is the next in the line of fire, as the Earl recalls a somewhat cold reaction from the royal. He recalled being sat next to Anne during a dinner just two days before Princess Diana’s wedding.
Earl Spencer, who was 17 at the time, was sat next to Anne, who recently had the christening of her daughter, Zara Tindall.
“It transpired, to my alarm, that I was actually placed next to Anne, and when she turned my way, I asked, ‘And how did your daughter’s christening go today, Ma’am?’” the Earl wrote.
“I expected her to run away with the happy topic of her baby Zara’s baptism. But instead, she stopped, looked at me witheringly, and asked, ‘Tell me, how’s a christening supposed to go?’”
Diana’s brother had blushed red and was left with no response. The awkward reaction seemed to live with the Earl, more so, because he witnessed his brother-in-law Neil making “easy conversation” with the Crown Princess of Japan about rice cultivation at the same dinner.
“It was the luck of the draw that night, whether you were placed next to a royal who was happy to make you feel small, or one that had the grace and manners to look for common ground, wherever it might be found.”
It is no secret that Anne is quite straight-forward and avoid physical greetings in most of her engagements as per royal protocol.
2026-09-23 15:51:00
