4 Bold Things Princess Anne Does That Kate and William Would Never Risk Doing

Known as the hardest-working royal, Princess Anne has spent more than five decades carrying out royal duties and has built a reputation for getting the job done without much fuss. While all the royals attend engagements, Anne has a record of working around the clock even when she is sick. Her approach is very different from the carefully modern image associated with the younger generation of royals. Anne has openly admitted that she is more interested in keeping things practical than constantly changing the way the monarchy works. That no-nonsense attitude has become one of Anne's defining features, and it explains some of the things she is willing to do that Prince William and Princess Kate's would never.

Anne has never been afraid to question popular ideas, even when they involve an issue closely associated with other members of the Royal Family. William is famously associated with renewable energy resources via his Earthshot Prize, as is Kate in championing nature and preserving the environment. But Anne, known for her old-school approach, although acknowledged in a 2020 interview with Country Life that renewable energy will be important in the future, also critiqued it. “Covering the countryside in solar panels and windmills isn't really the answer,” she said. She then went on to suggest alternatives such as better use of water, agricultural waste and woodland waste, as well as energy storage and hydrogen. Anne's willingness to publicly question aspects of the green transition therefore feels very different from the carefully constructed environmental campaigning associated with her nephew.

If there is one thing Anne has never been famous for, it is carefully rehearsed answers. Unlike William and Kate, Anne doesn't hold back in voicing her opinion even during media interviews. The most memorable example came in 1982, when Anne was on a royal visit to New Mexico while Princess Diana was giving birth to William in Britain. A reporter asked her about the birth, and Anne reportedly replied, “I didn't know she had one.” When another journalist asked whether there had been too much fuss about the royal baby, her answer was simply, “Yes.” Many times her blunt replies have created a frenzy, but the Princess has always been direct, and her replies are now a part of her no-nonsense reputation.

Anne's practical attitude does not stop at royal duties. It apparently extends all the way to her food preferences. As per Hello, former royal chef Darren McGrady shared how Anne almost always preferred bananas that were “almost black – overripe” because, as per her, they were easier to digest. Former royal footman Steven Kaye has also recalled seeing black bananas left in the royal kitchen specifically for Anne. He said the Princess Royal had instructed the chef to serve them overripe. Anne's food preferences also extended to her guests, as she on one occasion reportedly served cheap store-bought tinned meat Fray Bentos pies with vegetables and potatoes.

Anne has long had a reputation for preferring a relatively low-key approach to security, often driving on her own. In a 2020 Vanity Fair article, journalist Katie Nicholl noted Anne’s “surprisingly small” entourage on an engagement: just her lady-in-waiting and a close protection officer. This is particularly striking given what happened to Anne in 1974, when she was the target of an armed kidnapping attempt on The Mall. The gunman shot her protection officer, Jim Beaton, and her chauffeur before trying to force her out of the car. Anne famously refused, telling him, “Not bloody likely," as per The Independent. William and Kate, by contrast, are in line to become King and Queen, meaning their movements, particularly those involving their three children, require a much more extensive security.