Princess Anne's seven-word response after pop star made surprising confession

Princess Anne is a popular member of the Royal Family, and is often dubbed the hardest working royal. While she may be used to life in Palaces and the royal treatment, The Princess Royal also comes across as very down-to-earth, seeming the most happy when she is out in the countryside with horses for company.

However, while she may be very down-to-earth, people still appear to get nervous meeting the King's sister, 75, as they do with other members of the Royal Family. This is because there is plenty of protocol to follow, from handshakes to curtsies to bowing.

But it seems that Anne is not too fussed about such protocol, as once shown in a surprising seven-word comment to a pop star.

Richard Eden wrote in The Daily Mail this week that Anne had reassured Brian Poole, a member of the pop band The Tremeloes, when she met him.

As the pop star shook hands with the royal, he apologised for being nervous and called her ma'am, to which Anne surprisingly replied: "You don't have to call me ma'am."

Poole told Eden: "I did the Royal Variety Performance before Princess Anne. I shook hands with her and said 'Sorry ma'am, I'm nervous'.

"She said 'You don't have to call me ma'am. I'm like everyone else, don't worry.'"

It has previously been said that Anne does not like the "fuss" and formalities that sometimes come with being a royal, and instead simply likes to get on with her work.

In 2022, The Daily Mail's royal editor Rebecca English said on Palace Confidential: "She (Anne) likes to go out there, do what she needs to do with minimum fuss.

"Princess Anne doesn't actually want us to write about her."