Zara Tindall says Princess Anne is ‘professional, caring and honest’

Zara Tindall says Princess Anne is ‘professional, caring and honest’ while brother Peter Phillips sums her up as ‘tenacious’ in unseen footage from ITV documentary to mark their mother’s 70th birthday

  • Princess Royal’s children have summed up her personality in ITV documentary
  • An extended version of the film to mark Princess Anne’s 70th is airing tonight
  • Documentary first aired last week ahead of the royal’s birthday on August 15

The Princess Royal’s children have summed up her personality, saying she is ‘professional, caring, honest and tenacious’, in an extended version of ITV’s documentary to mark her 70th birthday.

Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, 39, and her son Peter Phillips, 42, who both live on their mother’s Gatcombe Park estate, made the remarks in tonight’s special episode of Anne: The Princess Royal At 70.

The documentary first aired last week ahead of Anne’s milestone birthday on 15th August, and features unseen family footage and conversations with the princess herself, her children and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 65.

In tonight’s extended version, the siblings were asked by interviewer Robert Hardman to sum up their mother in a word – although Zara struggled to pick only one and instead offered three, ‘professional, caring and honest’, while Peter said ‘tenacious’.

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Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, 39, and her son Peter Phillips (pictured together), 42, who both live on their mother’s Gatcombe Park estate, have summed up their mother’s personality, saying she is ‘professional, caring, honest and tenacious’, in an extended version of ITV’s documentary to mark her 70th birthday

The documentary first aired last week ahead of Anne's milestone birthday on August 15 and features unseen family footage and conversations with the princess (picturerd) herself, her children and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 65

The documentary first aired last week ahead of Anne’s milestone birthday on August 15 and features unseen family footage and conversations with the princess (picturerd) herself, her children and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 65

The makers of the film – who followed the royal for more than a year – asked the Princess’s children, Peter and Zara, the one question people mostly want to ask about the Royal Family, ‘What are they really like?’

The result was a hilarious discussion between brother and sister, as they debated which words best described their mother. 

Ahead of his meeting with Peter and Zara, interviewer Robert Hardman told them that he would be asking them to sum up their mother in a single word. 

Princess Anne (pictured in the programme) was followed for more than a year by filmmakers for the documentary

Princess Anne (pictured in the programme) was followed for more than a year by filmmakers for the documentary

‘Maybe I could ask you each for a word that sums up HRH,’ asked Hardman, leaving Zara initially stumped. 

‘I wish you’d told us this at the beginning,’ Zara replied, ‘then we could have thought about it all the way through.’

At which point Peter interjected: ‘If you’d read your notes, you’d have known this question was coming.’

‘Well, you haven’t got one ready,’ Zara shot back, but Peter was quick to offer his insight adding: ‘Well, you know what? Tenacious, I think, is a pretty good word to sum her up.’

But Zara insisted: ‘I don’t think you can sum her up in one word. It’s a bit stingy,’ before revealing three characteristics instead: ‘Professional, caring and honest.’ 

ANNE: THE PRINCESS ROYAL AT 70, 10.45PM 4 AUGUST, ITV