Princess Anne and the Queen appear to have been caught on video having a minor disagreement in front of Donald Trump and his wife Melania. A short clip has been circulating on Twitter showing the monarch greeting her guests at a reception held at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night. The Princess Royal can be seen standing off to one side – and in the video, the Queen turns towards her only daughter and appears to gesture to her to join the receiving line. Princess Anne responds by widening her arms out and shrugging. The clip has since gone viral on Twitter, with a number of people praising the Princess for her stance. "Princess Anne is the Queen of Shade. She is all of us," one wrote. "My new favourite royal member," a second remarked. A third observed: "Princess Anne has ALWAYS been an absolute hero in the royal family. Didn't give her kids titles, first to divorce, working round the clock... The videos of her gossiping with world leaders & shrugging like a teenager at the queen are just the cherry on top. *chef’s kiss*."
Fast forward to 39 seconds to see the Queen tell off Princess Anne!
Tuesday's glamorous event was held to mark 70 years of the NATO alliance, with NATO leaders and their spouses invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate the special anniversary. The British royal family were out in force, with the Queen and Princess Anne joined by the Duchess of Cambridge, who looked flawless in a green Alexander McQueen dress, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra. Kate was going solo on the night, with husband Prince William currently on an official visit to the Middle East.
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Princess Anne has long had a reputation for being one of the most down-to-earth – and unflappable – members of the royal family. She famously decided not to bestow royal titles on her children, Zara and Peter Phillips, in a bid to help them lead as normal lives as possible. And Anne has cemented her place as the hardest-working member of the royal family; in 2019 she racked up 137 official engagements, followed by older brother Prince Charles with 131.
Princess Anne with her children, Zara and Peter
Anne's strong-minded personality has served her in good stead in the past. In 1974 she and her former husband Mark Phillips were caught up in a kidnapping attempt, when their car was intercepted on the Mall by a man with a gun. According to 2002 Channel 4 documentary, The Real Princess Anne, it was the Queen's daughter herself who scuppered his plan. Upon being told to get out the car by the gunman, she famously retorted: "Not bloody likely!"
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"The gunman was hoping to collect a ransom of £3million but Anne thwarted his plan by refusing point blank to get out of the car," the show's narrator revealed. "He fired nine shots, but none at her, and her characteristic stubbornness became a form of heroism." Countess Mountbatten of Burma told the programme: "The situation was resolved around her steadfastness at remaining sitting in the car and not getting out. She was not going to be bullied into doing something she instinctively knows is totally wrong and is not going to have hysterics."
