Princess Anne’s absolutely epic response to student who thought he could embarrass her

Princess Anne is known for her sharp and witty retorts – and she had the best response when a student quizzed her about the royal family’s living situation.

Anne – the late Queen’s only daughter – was in Moscow at the time back in 1990 when she was asked, “How does it feel having Buckingham Palace as your private property?” The Princess gave a wry smile before responding.

She responded with: “Well, I don’t know because it isn’t” – prompting laughter from the rest of the students. “No, it’s a state-owned establishment,” she continued. “I wasn’t actually born there, I have my office there and the Queen lives there but it’s not really private property.

A clip of the moment has been shared on TikTok – and fans were quick to praise the no-nonsense royal. “She did that and with tact. My favourite of the whole bunch!” one wrote. A second noted: “He thought he was giving an ‘ouch’ moment but she flattened his tires!” And a third simply said: “Princess Anne is such an awesome BOSS.”

Princess Anne’s frank responses famously came into play during a failed kidnapping attempt in 1974. A man named Ian Ball shot at Anne’s Rolls-Royce as she and her then husband, Captain Mark Phillips, were returning to Buckingham Palace from a reception. Ball, who had hoped for a ransom of millions of dollars, commanded Anne to get out of the car during the tussle. “Not bloody likely” was her response.

In a 1980 interview with British talk show host Michael Parkinson, Princess Anne spoke about how she refused to move, even as Ball grabbed her arm and tackled her to the floor of the car. “We had a sort of discussion about where or where not we were going to go,” she revealed, adding that she saw no point in being rude to her assailant during the attack, which she thinks lasted at least 10 minutes.

Princess Anne’s frank responses famously came into play during a failed kidnapping attempt in 1974. A man named Ian Ball shot at Anne’s Rolls-Royce as she and her then husband, Captain Mark Phillips, were returning to Buckingham Palace from a reception. Ball, who had hoped for a ransom of millions of dollars, commanded Anne to get out of the car during the tussle. “Not bloody likely” was her response.

In a 1980 interview with British talk show host Michael Parkinson, Princess Anne spoke about how she refused to move, even as Ball grabbed her arm and tackled her to the floor of the car. “We had a sort of discussion about where or where not we were going to go,” she revealed, adding that she saw no point in being rude to her assailant during the attack, which she thinks lasted at least 10 minutes.

“I was scrupulously polite because I thought it was silly to be too rude at that stage,” she said, adding that it was the moment when Ian Ball ripped her dress that her attitude changed for the worse. “The back of my dress split and that was his most dangerous moment,” she quipped. “I lost my rag at that stage.

Princess Anne is regarded by many as the royal family’s secret weapon. The former Olympian, who famously rejected royal titles for her children, is also consistently named as Britain’s hardest-working royal. And she does it all with a great sense of humour. One of Anne’s finest moments came in 2012, when she was mistaken for her older brother, King Charles.

While attending the Young Advocates for Agriculture debate, Anne was introduced by speaker David Bolton as Her Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. The smiling Princess could be seen looking incredulous, before rolling her eyes at his mistake. “It’s the excitement!” he told the royal, who quickly retorted: “There’s a worry!”

Anne later recounted another case of mistaken identity in her speech. “My brother tells a story of having visited an elderly care home in Scotland, and at the time he was in a kilt,” she shared. “And he actually heard, when he was engaged in conversation down the other end, an old lady saying, ‘Is that the Princess Royal?'” As the laughter starts to subside, she concludes: “Thought it was quite funny. And I am wearing trousers today!”