Princess Anne's reaction to crowds cheering for her at rugby game proves she's the most humble royal
The crowd went wild!A lip reading expert has deciphered just what Princess Anne apparently said after she realised the crowd was cheering her on at a recent rugby game.
As a long-time patron of Scottish rugby, Anne, 75, attended a Six Nations rugby fixture last weekend in Rome. The royal was one of thousands who watched the game between Scotland and Italy at the Olympic Stadium.
While there, Anne received an overwhelming gesture from the crowds. And now according to a lip reading expert, Anne had the most adorable reaction.
Princess Anne cheered on at rugby game
On Saturday (February 7) Anne watched the Six Nations rugby game in Rome, which ended in an 18-15 win for Italy.
During one moment in the game, the camera switched to show Anne’s face on the big screen. Suddenly spectators started to loudly cheer while applauding the royal.
Anne looked confused at first by the reaction and the person sitting beside her pointed out the cheers were for her. Expressing a warm smile, Anne laughed as the crowd kept cheering her on.
And now, lip reading expert Nicola Hickling has deciphered Anne’s apparent modest reaction.
What did Princess Anne say?
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, Nicola decoded Princess Anne as saying: “Oh dear, this is a surprise, isn’t it? Though it’s a good crowd, it’s lively when they play.”
The video of Anne at the rugby match quickly made its rounds online, delighting plenty of social media users.
“Truly a magnificent human being and fantastic role model for women around the world,” gushed one person. Another pointed out: “She looks so much like the Queen at times.”
Princess Anne one of the ‘hardest working royals’
Princess Anne has long been a favourite with royal fans and it’s no surprise as she remains one of the hardest-working royals.
Last year saw Princess Anne revealed as the second hardest-working royal out of the whole royal family, with just her brother, King Charles, beating her in terms of engagements undertaken.
2025 saw the king carry out more than 500 royal engagements, despite his continued cancer treatment. Anne, meanwhile, carried out 478 engagements last year.
Anne ‘did most days of work in 2025’
Speaking about the king’s achievements, royal reporter Patricia Treble told The Mirror: “Considering he spent the entire year undergoing regular cancer treatment, the king set the pace when it comes to royal duty for the House of Windsor.
“There’s a common belief that Anne is the hardest-working royal. I beg to differ. Though the Princess Royal did the most days of work (186) in 2025, it was her big brother who did the largest number of engagements.”
Anne doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, either. When asked recently whether she’d considered retirement, she said it “isn’t really an option”.
Read more: Princess Anne’s ‘true feelings’ over King Charles’ ‘treatment’ of brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
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