Leave it to Princess Anne to find a way to immediately put a room full of people tasked with an important job at ease. The Princess Royal has long been admired for her dry sense of humour, her dependable work ethic and the fact that, despite being the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, she doesn’t stand on ceremony.
This is apparently true even in situations which are definitely all about her - like when a portrait is being painted. Speaking to Hello!, portrait artist Louise Pragnell has recalled the time she was working on a piece and Princess Anne came sweeping into the room, dispensing with rigid protocols.
Louise explained that before the first sitting for a portrait she was apparently given some pretty strict instructions, including where to sit and how to properly introduce herself when the Princess Royal arrived.
However, true to form, Princess Anne had other plans. Louise claimed, "She walked in and looked straight across and waved and said, 'Hello!' The people around were thinking, ‘That didn't go how we'd planned’. She's really cool, she just gets on with it."
Artist Louise added that the King's sister also helped put her at ease after an embarrassing slip up the first time they met in 2010.
"She was the first royal I ever met and I got my curtsey all wrong," she explained. "Having never seen a real life example of a curtsey, I messed it up and went bright red."
Louise has painted two portraits of the Princess Royal, so this was all forgiven, it seems. One of these pieces was created to commemorate Princess Anne being appointed Colonel-In-Chief of the Intelligence Corps.
Reflecting on her tireless energy, Louise also revealed that she would try to offer breaks to the Princess Royal. Despite this, Anne reportedly showed absolutely no signs of needing a breather during the packed schedule and was very considerate of the needs of those also working around her.
She said, "She's a seriously impressive person. Her first sitting was her fourth engagement of the day. She had to stand in these heavy robes for two hours. Halfway through, I said: 'Ma'am, do you need a break?' She was like, 'No, do you need a break, Louise?'"
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Having painted other royals, including the Duke of Kent, Louise has now gained valuable experience. There's a unique trait that she feels they've all mastered and it probably isn't easy to do so.
"Royals are very rehearsed at putting people at their ease. They'll want to feel that I'm going to get what I need out of the sitting," she said.
