‘I had surprising encounter with Princess Anne – she abandoned all royal protocol’

A portrait artist spoke of her encounters with Princess Anne and the Prince and Princess of Wales, including the moment that left her red-faced

Princess Anne is reported to have abandoned royal protocol during her first sitting with contemporary portrait artist Louise Pragnell. The artist has earned considerable recognition for her work, producing pieces ranging from private commissions to large-scale group portraits.

Louise’s first meeting with the Princess Royal took place in 2010 when Anne unveiled her painting, the Household Cavalry. Reflecting on the occasion, the artist confessed she was left red-faced by a mistake she made.

“She was the first royal I met and I got my curtsey all wrong. It was so embarrassing,” she told Hello! Magazine.

According to the publication, the Princess Royal set aside formal royal etiquette during her first sitting with Louise.

“She walked in and waved and said, ‘Hello’,” Louise remembered. “She’s a seriously impressive person. She had to stand in heavy robes for two hours.”

“Halfway through, I said, ‘Ma’am do you need a break?’. She was like, ‘No, do you need a break Louise?’.”

Princess Anne has subsequently posed for Louise on two more occasions. In 2025, the artist produced a 2.5-metre portrait of the royal, commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Saddlers.

The work shows the 75-year-old wearing formal Intelligence Corps Mess Dress, with every colour deliberately selected for its historical meaning.

Louise also recounted another moment involving royalty. In 2023, she presented her portrait of the Irish Guards to the Prince and Princess of Wales. However, moments before the royal couple’s arrival, she noticed the easel starting to lean forward.

“We had people lying on the floor with screwdrivers [to fix it with minutes to spare]”.

Looking back on her encounters with members of the Royal Family, Louise said they are skilled “at putting people at ease”.

“They’ll want to feel that I’m going to get what I need,” she added.

Dame Joanna Lumley has likewise previously remarked upon Princess Anne’s composed and comforting manner.

Recounting the occasion she was awarded her damehood at Buckingham Palace in 2022, for services to drama, entertainment, and charitable causes, the actress confessed she started to “choke up”.

“It was only a small ceremony, hardly any people, 24 people there,” she shared on Chris Evans’ Virgin Radio Breakfast Show.

“So it wasn’t like the big ones where they have the whole ballroom there and bands playing and everything – this was really quiet.”

Upon meeting the Princess Royal, Dame Joanna shared the considerate words Anne offered to comfort her.

“There was the Princess Royal smiling so sweetly and giving such a grin and I choked up and I couldn’t say a word and I said to her, ‘I can’t speak,’ and she whispered, ‘Never mind, never mind’.”