RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Photos showed a tearful Princess Royal lost in thought… at last we see the real Princess Anne – full of love for her Mama

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be another one of those ‘The Queen Who Met Me’ pieces. Although I did meet her once, at the 150th anniversary of the Journalists’ Charity, of which she was patron.

I was in a receiving line, along with other ambassadors for the charity, standing next to my old mate Nick Ferrari, the peerless LBC radio breakfast show presenter.

Nick, an ardent monarchist, was so overcome with excitement at meeting Her Maj that he actually curtsied. He squatted so low that I worried he might have trouble getting up again.

The Queen had that effect on people. Even though I’ve never been much of a royalist, it was an honour to shake her hand. I remember thinking how much she reminded me of my own mum. Same height, similar demeanour, some of the same facial expressions.

It was an impression that only increased, every time I saw the Queen on TV, as they both got older and entered their tenth decade.

I was in a receiving line, along with other ambassadors for the charity, standing next to my old mate Nick Ferrari, the peerless LBC radio breakfast show presenter

Mum was a couple of years younger, but they were from the same generation and at least superficially cut from the same cloth. Although from vastly different backgrounds, they shared many attributes — love of family and country, selflessness and a wicked sense of humour.

Even though my father’s job took her to America 46 years ago, Mum never gave up her British citizenship and made it home as often as she could. Like most of those who had endured the deprivations and dangers of World War II, she admired the Royal Family in general and the Queen in particular.

When Mum died in March, I had to dash the 3,800 miles to Detroit. Fortunately, I made it in time to spend precious hours at her bedside before she passed away peacefully.

So I can understand what the Queen’s children went through as they raced to Balmoral. At least Charles and Anne were with her at the end.

What made me think back to Nick’s reaction on meeting the Queen was that picture of Anne curtsying as her mother’s coffin was carried into the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

To my mind, it was the most poignant and moving image of the past, terribly sad few days. It illustrated a side of the Princess Royal that we have rarely, if ever, seen before.

The Queen had that effect on people. Even though I’ve never been much of a royalist, it was an honour to shake her hand. I remember thinking how much she reminded me of my own mum. Same height, similar demeanour, some of the same facial expressions

Her face was racked with grief, understandably, after having endured not just the difficult days since her beloved Mama died, but an agonising six-hour road trip behind the royal hearse from Balmoral. The Queen had specifically requested that the Princess accompanied her on her final journey, an indication of the towering regard in which she held her daughter.

Photographs taken en route show a tearful Anne, lost in thought. It was not the Princess to whom we have become accustomed over the years.

We are used to seeing her with her game face on, faithfully carrying out an exhausting schedule of public engagements — more than any other member of the family. Occasionally, the mask has slipped, for instance when telling over-intrusive photographers to ‘Naff ’orf’.

But I can’t recall ever seeing her display much emotion. She’s tougher than the rest.

She has never succumbed to the temptation of indulging in self-serving, soul-searching television interviews or collaborating on tell-all memoirs.

Mum was a couple of years younger, but they were from the same generation and at least superficially cut from the same cloth. Although from vastly different backgrounds, they shared many attributes — love of family and country, selflessness and a wicked sense of humour.

Heaven knows she must have been horrified when her late sister-in-law co-operated with Andrew Morton and sat down to spill the beans with the BBC’s Martin Bashir. We can only imagine how appalled she must be at the money-grubbing antics of her ingrate nephew Harry and his ghastly bit-part actress wife.

In yesterday’s Daily Mail, royal confidant Gyles Brandreth revealed that Anne was shocked when Charles effectively told Jonathan Dimbleby in 1994 that their mother was remote and uncaring.

She leapt to the Queen’s defence, insisting: ‘I’m not going to speak for anyone else but I simply don’t believe there is any evidence to suggest that she wasn’t caring. It beggars belief.

‘I don’t believe any of us, for a second, thought she didn’t care for us in the same way any other mother did.’

It is not recorded what she said to her brother behind closed doors, but ‘Naff ’orf’ would likely have been the half of it.

So it was heartening to read Nick Constable in The Mail on Sunday reporting that Charles and Anne are now closer than ever.

I claim no special insight into the royals, but those who are in the know say the Princess was the constant in the Queen’s life, especially since Prince Philip died.

We are used to seeing her with her game face on, faithfully carrying out an exhausting schedule of public engagements — more than any other member of the family. Occasionally, the mask has slipped, for instance when telling over-intrusive photographers to ‘Naff ’orf’

That figures, certainly based on my own experience. There’s a bond between mother and daughter that a son, no matter how close to his mum, simply can’t replicate.

From the moment my father died 27 years ago, my younger sister Vivienne became my mother’s rock. Her strength and stay, so to speak.

In later years, as Mum’s health deteriorated, they moved in together. Viv became her full-time carer, at the same time as holding down a responsible job. When Covid kept us apart for more than 18 months, I was comforted to know that Viv was looking after Mum, beyond the call of duty.

OK, so we were separated by nearly 4,000 miles. But even if Mum had lived 400 yards away from me in London, I still couldn’t have cared for her in the same way only a daughter could.

I’m sure the Queen adored her four children equally, but she is lucky to have had a daughter with whom she shared not only her love of horses and the countryside, but was also someone who could share her more intimate concerns and confidences.

King Charles III knows he can depend on his sister’s undying support as he faces the multiple challenges ahead in his new role as sovereign.

Similarly, I’d like to think that my mother’s passing brought my sister and me closer together, too. I will be eternally grateful for everything Vivienne did for Mum, just as I am sure Charles hugely appreciates Anne’s devotion to their dear Mama.

To have such wonderful sisters is to be truly blessed. Just don’t expect me to curtsy.

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