Princess Anne is one of the hardest working members of the royal family, carrying out a whopping 478 official engagements in 2025.
Her outings see her meet thousands of people, all eager to spend time with King Charles’s sister. It could be a daunting prospect for Anne – but she has a typically practical approach to getting through large numbers of individuals in a day.
Anne, 76, revealed all during an interview with Terry Wogan back in 1985.
When asked about how she manages to think of something new to say to each person she meets, Anne said: “It’s rather like market research. You can ask everybody, literally everybody, the same questions.
“Like you have three questions for that afternoon, and you ask everybody the same questions. And with any luck, it shortens the time involved… Doesn’t always happen.”
Anne also shared a glimpse inside her thought process when she’s asked to open new buildings and sites.
© Getty Images“I’m very short about it. I don’t say a lot,” Anne explained. “Yes, it’s more, ‘I’m very much looking forward to seeing whatever it is I’m about to open’ – or words to that effect.
“But I frequently thank them for the opportunity of having seen it before I open it, if I’ve been allowed to see it.”
Princess Anne’s blunt response during her engagement interview
Anne was recently voted the most popular British royal, in no small part thanks to her no-nonsense temperament, dry wit and wicked sense of humour.
Her one-liners have resulted in many standout moments for King Charles’s younger sister – one of which took place following her very own engagement announcement to first husband Captain Mark Phillips.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesAnne and Mark were married on 14 November 1973 at Westminster Abbey, and went on to welcome two children together, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall.
In an interview to celebrate the news, Anne and Mark – a lieutenant in the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards – were asked whether they believed their upcoming marriage could withstand the enormous pressures of public duty and media publicity.
Mark gave a measured response, stating that they had already “withstood a great deal already this year”.
© Getty ImagesPrincess Anne, meanwhile, interjected with a characteristically blunt, pragmatic reply: “Can? It’s got to, hasn’t it?”
Despite her firm retort, the marriage ultimately unravelled. The couple separated in 1989 and officially divorced in 1992. Princess Anne went on to marry Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence later that same year.
Prince Philip’s hilarious description of only daughter Anne
Anne was the only daughter born to Philip and the late Queen Elizabeth – and palace staff and royal commentators would sometimes joke that Anne was Philip’s “favorite son” because her direct, and pragmatic personality completely mirrored his own.
One mutual love father and daughter shared was an equestrian passion. Prince Philip excelled in polo and later revolutionised and competed in carriage driving well into his eighties.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAnd on one occasion, Philip poked fun at Anne’s love of horses with a surprising description.
Referring to her passion for all things equestrian, he famously joked: “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.”
Of course, Anne had a typically witty response. “That’s a slight exaggeration – I do also like dogs, which eat meat, not hay,” she said.
The Princess has herself poked fun at her horsey-reputation. “When I appear in public people expect me to neigh, grind my teeth, paw the ground and swish my tail – none of which is easy,” she once said of being an accomplished equestrian.
