Princess Anne’s softer side after Earl Spencer’s ‘small’ claim

Princess Anne is widely admired for her forthright manner, sharp wit and unwavering commitment to royal duty. However, Earl Spencer has offered a markedly different portrayal of the Princess Royal in his new memoir.

Although King Charles receives the strongest criticism in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Anne also comes under fire in the controversial account, published ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death next year.

Royal biographer Robert Hardman observed that “Lord Spencer does like to lob a casual potshot into a story” after the Earl claimed Anne dismissed him during a formal dinner at Buckingham Palace, held two days before Diana married Charles.

Earl Spencer wrote that he felt extremely “small” after asking Princess Anne about Zara Tindall’s christening in 1981. He recalled: “She stopped, looked at me witheringly, and asked, ‘Tell me, how’s a christening supposed to go?’” Yet royal watchers may find the description at odds with their own impressions of Anne.

Behind her practical and reserved public image, Princess Anne is also known as a devoted grandmother, compassionate friend and good-humoured member of the royal family.

As Mr Hardman pointed out, accounts of Anne’s character are likely to “vary” considerably from Earl Spencer’s unflattering version, particularly given the many occasions when the second-busiest royal has displayed a gentler side.

Princess Anne is likely to have been a source of considerable support for her son-in-law, former England rugby player Mike Tindall, following the death of his father, Phil, at the age of 80.

Phil had lived with Parkinson’s disease for more than two decades, a condition Mike described as “brutal”. A poignant image from Mike and Zara’s 2011 wedding shows Anne, wearing a pleated skirt and embroidered jacket, helping the then-65-year-old Phil through the venue.

“He was really struggling at our wedding and had an operation on his spine just afterwards,” Mike told The Sunday Times in 2020.

Earlier this year, reports also suggested that Princess Anne welcomed her newest step-granddaughter, 13-year-old Georgina, into the family “with open arms” following her son Peter’s wedding to NHS nurse Harriet Sperling.

A well-placed source said Anne had embraced Georgina’s arrival, describing her as an “amazing mother and grandmother” who naturally puts people at ease, much like her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Georgina is step-sister to Peter’s daughters, Savannah, 15, and Isla, 14. She is now part of the growing group of grandchildren who form a close-knit family around Anne at Gatcombe Park.

Peter and Zara both live near their mother on her 700-acre Gloucestershire estate, allowing Anne to spend time with her grandchildren during the limited breaks in her demanding schedule.

Mr Hardman has previously described Anne’s bond with the younger members of her family as “very normal”, adding that she “dotes” on them.

“It’s very normal; there isn’t any standing on ceremony, and she’s the only one with a title,” the royal author said. “She’s a very good grandmother. She’s hands-on, but like all grandchildren, I think they can get away with things. She dotes on them.”

“She adores them, and it’s touching to see her with her grandchildren at horse trials, showing them things and looking relaxed in her jeans,” Ailsa Anderson, a former aide to the late Queen, told Hello! magazine.

Anne is similarly sentimental about her mother and shared a special relationship with the late Queen, remaining by her side during her final hours on September 8, 2022. 

Despite her profound grief, Anne greeted mourners in Balmoral with a warm smile, thanking them for their flowers, and comforted grieving children in an extraordinary display of her sensitive side. 

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Any suggestion that the Princess Royal is not affectionate was put to bed after an old clip of her and daughter Zara Tindall was recently posted online.

Social media users were reacting to archival footage of Anne’s emotional hug with Zara, then 24, after she was crowned European Eventing Champion at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire 20 years ago.

After Zara galloped to victory during the cross-country event, Anne, then 55, who is typically guarded, became visibly emotional.

The Princess Royal, who was dressed in a brown coat, rushed to give Zara a warm embrace in a public gesture rarely seen before.

Anne, who also won gold at the European Eventing Championships in 1971, was every bit the ‘proud mother’ as Zara bent forward to receive her gold medal in what she has since described as a ‘fairytale’.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail that, until this moment, Princess Anne was perceived as ‘severe and imperious’ while recalling how she told reporters to ‘naff off’ when they photographed her after she fell from her horse in 1982.

This was what made the ‘sheer, undiluted joy’ of her and Zara’s hug ‘a delight to watch,’ he continued. Describing Anne’s reaction as ‘pleasure unalloyed,’ Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘What was significant, and softened Princess Anne’s image, was when the public saw them rejoicing together and hugging each other, and therefore could rejoice with them all the more.’

More than two decades after it was filmed, the clip has left royal fans delighted as they gushed about what an ‘amazing mother’ Princess Anne is, while celebrating her ‘special bond’ with Zara.

‘I was always under the impression that Princess Anne said she wasn’t maternal,’ one comment on TikTok read. ‘What an amazing mom she made.’

‘[Anne] seems to be such an affectionate mum,’ another social media user wrote. 

If royal fans were surprised to see Anne doling hugs out to her daughter publicly, it was nothing compared to their reaction when the typically reserved Anne embraced the captain of the Scottish rugby team on camera after a humourous exchange over the course of this year. 

The Princess Royal, who is patron of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), was captured warmly embracing Sione Tuipulotu following Scotland’s Six Nations final fixture against Ireland on March 14.  

In response to the sweet clip, droves of fans on X praised Anne for being ‘so human and brilliant’, with one user adding: ‘She seems like such a down-to-earth royal.’

‘He’ll cherish that hug,’ noted one commenter and remarked: ‘Anne looks really happy.’

‘Honestly, who doesn’t love Princess Anne,’ added another, while one onlooker fondly described the Princess Royal as a ‘great ambassador of Scottish Rugby’.

The heartwarming moment came after the 29-year-old sportsman first tried – and failed – to embrace Anne while celebrating the nation’s victory against England in the Calcutta Cup. 

In line with royal protocol, the princess stepped back and placed her hand on his shoulder before engaging in jovial conversation with the rugby star. 

Then, a few weeks later, Anne and the rugby player shared another touching moment when the princess handed him the Auld Alliance Trophy following their win against France. 

In a lighthearted reference to their previous near-hug moment, they both mirrored each other by opening their arms in jest – delighting royal fans who praised Anne’s ‘fun’ and ‘wonderful’ nature.

Yet for Scotland’s final match of the tournament, Anne momentarily sidestepped royal protocol, as seen in ‘lovely’ footage of the pair shared by Scottish Rugby that was captioned ‘Sione finally gets his hug.’

It’s a far cry from the ‘withering’ comment Earl Spencer recalls, but he eventually admitted Anne’s ‘hard work as the royal patron of good causes won through’.