Princess Anne Mistaken for Prince of Wales in Resurfaced Debate Clip

The Princess Royal was once welcomed on stage as her big brother.

Footage from 2012 shows Princess Anne taking her seat at the Young Advocates for Agriculture debate when the host, David Bolton, introduces her as “Her Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales” Hello! Magazine. The Prince of Wales was then the title held by her brother, now King Charles III. The mix of “Her Royal Highness” with his title made the slip doubly wrong.

Anne stops dead. She looks incredulously at Bolton, rolls her eyes and spins around in amused, exaggerated shock as laughter breaks out in the room Town & Country. It lasts seconds. She does not look cross.

Bolton tries to recover. “It’s the excitement!” he tells her.

“There’s a worry!” Anne shoots back.

She then takes the microphone and defuses it herself. “Thought it was quite funny. And I am wearing trousers today!” she says, to more laughter from the audience.

Anne even had a comeback story ready. She told the room about a visit with the then-Prince Charles to an elderly care home in Scotland, where he was wearing a kilt. An elderly resident looked at the King in his tartan and asked: “Is that the Princess Royal?”

What makes this stand out is the timing. No pause. No fuss. Just a quick eye-roll, a one-liner, and on with the debate.