Princess Anne Once Shocked a Christmas Day Crowd With Her Brusque Comment to a Fan

Princess Anne in a red and green plaid coat walking next to and Zara Phillips and a photo of Princess Anne wearing a fur trimmed blue coat holding flowers and talking to a group of fans

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 20 December 2024

Princess Anne has always been known for her no-nonsense persona, but during one Sandringham Christmas outing, her comment might've rubbed one fan the wrong way. Longtime royal photographer Arthur Edwards shared the story during a recent episode of the Sun's Royal Exclusive show—and how he missed out on the moment everyone was talking about that year.

Edwards discussed how Princess Anne's daughter, Zara Tindall (then Zara Phillips) had just got her tongue pierced, and everyone was "desperate" to get a photo of the buzzed-about accessory. Although he didn't mention when the Christmas in question was, given the timeline of when Zara got her piercing, the incident must have taken place during Christmas 1998.

"We're all desperate to get this picture of the tongue, you see, and then I'm driving back to London, and the office rang and said, 'Have you got a picture of Princess Anne?'" Edwards recalled.

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“I said, no, no, this story is about Zara Phillips and the stud," he continued. However, it seems that the year's biggest Christmas story wasn't about a tongue piercing, after all.

Princess Anne wearing a red and green plaid coat and green skirt with black boots walking next to Zara Tindall in a gray coat and hat with crowds of fans lining the road — Princess Anne is pictured on Christmas Day 1998 with daughter Zara Tindall (then Zara Phillips).

“She got a bouquet, Princess Anne, off one of the visitors," Edwards shared, recalling that the woman told Anne, "I've been up all night making this for you." In reply, the ever-frank Princess Royal—who sported a very festive red-and-green plaid jacket that year—said, "You must be mad!"

“And that was the story," Edwards said. "Although the stars of the Royal Family are there—obviously Catherine and William and the children and our King and Queen— but sometimes the story's elsewhere, and I missed it, I'm afraid. But someone got a picture somewhere."

Although the royal photographer didn't mention how the fan received Princess Anne's comment, the Sun’s royal editor, Matt Wilkinson, noted how people come from around the world to wait outside St. Mary Magdalene church to get a glimpse of the family on Christmas Day. "The amazing thing is, people are there from 5, 6 o'clock in the morning, people come from America and Canada," he said.

Hopefully, Anne's bouquet-maker didn't fly across the pond that year, but something tells me she probably didn't mind Anne's remark either way.

As for this year's Christmas walk, watch this space to see who steals the show at Sandringham (my money's on Prince Louis).

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.