Princess Anne describes key aspect of royal life as 'patently absurd'

Princess Anne was recently named the most popular member of the British royal family, beating the likes of Prince William and Princess Catherine and her older brother King Charles.

The 76-year-old has a reputation for being refreshingly blunt, having inherited her father Prince Philip’s famously dry, no-nonsense wit. And it has led to plenty of unscripted, hilarious moments that have greatly endeared her to the British public over the years.

One such moment came when she appeared in the TV documentary Queen of the World, which aired in 2018.

The Princess Royal reflected on how the rules have changed for the royal family over the years - and the one update she cannot get on board with.

Anne said:  "I mean we never shook hands. The theory was that you couldn't shake hands with everybody, so don't start. So I kind of stick with that, but I notice others don't."

Referring to younger members of the royal family, Anne laughed: "It's not for me to say that it's wrong, but I think that the initial concept was that it was patently absurd to start shaking hands. And it seems to me that it's become a shaking hands exercise, rather than a walkabout, if you see what I mean. So that, it has changed."

The late Queen's only daughter then took aim at modern technology.

"I'm glad I'm not starting now, because at least you had people to talk to, and now you don't really," she noted. 

"Phones are bad enough, but the iPads, you can't even see their heads. You don't know who you're talking to. And I do get slightly, I either don't bother, or just say 'Look if you want to ask, you know, meet somebody, I suggest you put that down.' 

"It is weird, as people don't believe that they've experienced the event unless they've taken photographs. And usually you're standing immediately in front of them."

Queen of the World was a two-part series that focused on the late monarch's role on the international stage. In the preview, a narrator explained that the idea of a walkabout was first introduced in the seventies when the Queen decided to "shake things up" and "say hello to the crowds".

But Queen Elizabeth felt the same as her daughter when it came to technology overuse. In 2014, US ambassador Matthew Barzun revealed to Tatler that the Queen considered it bad manners for wellwishers to be looking at a screen when she made public appearances. 

"She was essentially saying: 'I miss eye contact,'" Matthew said, adding that the monarch finds the selfie trend "disconcerting" and "strange".

Princess Anne's reaction as she's mistaken for wrong royal

Princess Anne is not only the hardest-working member of the royal family – she's also one of the funniest. And she had a brilliant reaction when she was mistaken for her brother at the 2012 Young Advocates for Agriculture debate.

Speaker David Bolton accidentally introduced Princess Anne as "Her Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales", and as laughter broke out around the room, smiling Anne could be seen looking incredulous, before rolling her eyes at his mistake. 

"It's the excitement!" he told the royal, who quickly retorted: "There's a worry!"

Later on, Anne recounted another incident of mistaken identity, recalling an anecdote shared with her by Charles. 

"My brother tells a story of having visited an elderly care home in Scotland, and at the time he was in a kilt. And he actually heard, when he was engaged in conversation down the other end, an old lady saying, 'Is that the Princess Royal?'" 

As the laughter started to subside, she concluded: "Thought it was quite funny. And I am wearing trousers today!"