Princess Anne has revealed that she finds the royal walkabout custom of shaking hands with members of the public "patently absurd," noting that royals historically never shook hands. In the ITV documentary Queen of the World, the Princess Royal reflected on how the tradition has changed in recent years, a change she says she never quite grasped.
Anne, who is known as the hardest working member of the Royal Family, said in the documentary: "The theory was that you couldn’t shake hands with everybody, so don’t start. So I kind of stick with that, but I noticed others don’t." She added that the practice is not practical, stating: "I think the initial concept was that it was patently absurd to start shaking hands. And it seems to me that it’s become a shaking hands exercise rather than a walkabout, if you see what I mean—so that has changed."
Changing Royal Customs
While older generations of royals did not shake hands with the public during walkabouts, newer members, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, are often seen doing so. Anne, however, has chosen to stick with the old approach.
The Princess Royal also does not prioritise taking selfies with those who attend royal engagements. She said: "I’m glad I’m not starting now, because at least you [previously] had people to talk to — now you don’t, really. Phones are bad enough, but the iPads—you can’t even see their heads! You don’t know who you’re talking to." She added: "I either don’t bother, or I say, ‘Look, if you want to meet us, I suggest you put that down.’"
Reflections on Royal Life
Anne explained the modern obsession with documenting events, saying: "It is weird, as people don’t believe that they’ve experienced the event unless they’ve taken photographs. And usually you’re standing immediately in front of them."
In 2025 alone, Anne completed 478 royal engagements. According to Hello! magazine’s royal editor Emily Nash, Anne is "unstuffy," adding: "It’s rare to cover one of the Princess Royal’s engagements in person. She famously abhors fuss of any kind and prefers to go about her business without a press pack following her every move."
The Princess Royal turned 76 in August. When asked about scaling back her work, she said: "I don’t think there’s a retirement program for this particular life. It really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so."
