Princess Anne 'accidentally' stopped crucial sporting event in 'tactical' move
PRINCESS ANNE "accidentally" disrupted her son's rugby match in what was described as a "tactical" move.
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Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II. She took the unusual step of not giving her two children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, the royal titles they were entitled to on their birth. Several times has she said this was a decision intended to provide them with as normal a life as possible.
Anne has become known as one of the family's hardest-working members.
She is patron to over 200 organisations.
Charitable work isn't the only thing her life's work has focused on.
As a young woman, Anne became a champion equestrian.
The sports gene was passed on to her children, with Zara too becoming an Olympic medal winning equestrian, while Peter played rugby in his younger days.
It was at one of Peter's rugby matches, so crucial to the young man at the time, that Anne "accidentally" disrupted a passage of play.
However, when relaying this anecdote, Peter, speaking to the BBC to mark Anne's 60th birthday, appeared to question the accidental nature of the event.
He said: "She (Anne) always used to bring the dogs down with her to the matches.
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"There was one occasion where one of them accidentally ran loose onto the pitch and interrupted the game.
"Whether that was on purpose or not, I don't know," he added, laughing.
Zara responded: "Tactical."
Peter continued: "She would always talk to those around her but she would never vocalise it onto the pitch like some parents."
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Here, Zara said: "Talk at them I think, not to them!"
Both Zara and Peter have previously talked about how Anne's competitiveness and hard-working nature was instilled in them at a young age.
Shortly after, the pair reflected on the "get on with it" lifestyle they had been brought up under.
Zara said: "It's amazing how much she can fit into a week.
"The amount of different places she goes to in the country and people she meets and, she always remembers everyone she's met.
"It's just unbelievable, her capacity to do all of it."
Peter offered: "We've been very much brought up on whatever we do in life we were going to have to work bloody hard.
"Whether it's Zara doing equestrian, three day eventing, or me in what I'm doing.
"At the end of the day we were told we had to work bloody hard - to just get on and do it, don't complain or quibble about the work."
In August, Anne celebrated her 70th birthday.
To mark it, she was promoted by the Army and Royal Air Force to the role of General and Air Chief Marshal.
This brought her ranks in line with her rank in the Royal Navy.
It is a tradition that senior royals are treated as military members and receive promotions as they get older.