Princess Anne shuts down student who tries to embarrass her with awkward question
Princess Anne took no nonsense when it came to answering a question about her living arrangements.
The Princess Royal has been praised for being a “class act” in a resurfaced clip online that shows her being quizzed by a student during a visit to the Soviet Union in 1990. Anne, then 40, was visiting Moscow when she was asked a question about Buckingham Palace – and she responded with a straight-up answer and smiled.
The student asked Anne: “How does it feel having Buckingham Palace as your private property?” To which the Princess responded a blunt statement: “Well, I don’t know because it isn’t.”
After the rest of the class laughed, Anne went on to explain: “No, it’s a state-owned establishment. I wasn’t actually born there. I have my office there and the Queen lives there but it’s not really private property.” Buckingham Palace is occupied by the Sovereign and held in trust by Crown Estates for future generations.
The clip, which is currently circulating on TikTok, has been praised by royal fans with Anne being dubbed “intelligent, strong and extremely witty” by one viewer. Another said: “Love the Princess Royal! She’s humble and a class act.”
A third commented: “She’s wonderful! Such a true treasure!” while a fourth said: “He thought he was giving an ‘ouch’ moment but she flattened his tyres.” Many also noted how Anne went to say ‘my mother’ instead of ‘the Queen’ but stopped herself.
