Princess Anne teaches the Queen how to video call in behind-the-scenes clip

'Can you see everybody?' asks the Princess Royal

Sarah Jones
Wednesday 29 July 2020 16:05 BST
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Behind-the-scenes moment Princess Anne teaches the Queen how to use Zoom during first public video call

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A behind-the-scenes clip of Princess Anne teaching the Queen how to video call has been shared ahead of an upcoming documentary to mark the royal’s 70th birthday.

The ITV programme, titled Anne: The Princess Royal At 70, features a previously unseen clip of the moment Her Majesty took part in her very first public video call to mark National Carers Week 2020 last month.

At the start of the video, Anne is seen waiting for her mother to enter the call from Windsor Castle before the Queen's assistant, private secretary Tom Laing-Baker, says: “It's Tom here. I'm just going to introduce Her Majesty The Queen.”

Anne is then heard saying: “Ah. Good morning at Windsor,” before the Queen replies: “Good morning. I'm very glad to have been able to join you.”

Anne asks Her Majesty: “Can you see everybody? You should have six people on your screen.”

When the Queen replies: “Yes, well I can see four anyway,” the princess quips: “Actually, you don't need me. You know what I look like!”

Royal fans were quick to praise Princess Anne for her humour after the video was shared on social media.

“Brilliant. Princess Anne is great and it’s been lovely watching the Queen zoom during lockdown. Can’t wait to watch this,” one person wrote.

Another added: “The Princess Royal can be summed up in one word. Splendiferous,” while a third person commented: “I truly love Princess Anne – such wit!”

Others shared their own experiences of having to help older relatives get to grips with modern technology during lockdown.

“We had similar with my 85 and 91-year-old parents when using FaceTime! They embraced the concept willingly despite us seeing half of each face or up their noses most times,” one person shared.

During the upcoming documentary, Princess Anne also commented on social media, saying that while she has taken part in a number virtual calls, they are no substitute for face-to-face meetings.

“With online technology...being in touch is one thing but it's not quite the same,” she said.

“The ability to meet people, that's what makes the difference. I mean, I know what Twitter is but I wouldn't go anywhere near it if you paid me frankly.”

The Princess Royal also shared her thoughts on hit Netflix series The Crown.

After discovering that it takes around two hours for the actor who plays her to replicate her hairstyle, Anne said: “Actually I read an article the other day about The Crown, the actress was talking about how long it took them to do their hair like I did.

“And I’m thinking, ‘How could you possibly take that long?’ I mean it takes me 10 or 15 minutes.”

Anne: The Princess Royal At 70 airs on 29 July at 9pm on ITV.

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