Princess Anne is said to have broken royal protocol when she first met contemporary portrait artist Louise Pragnell for a sitting. The artist has built a strong reputation for her work, creating everything from personal commissions to ambitious group portraits.
Louise first met the Princess Royal in 2010 when Anne unveiled her painting, the Officers of the Household Cavalry. Recalling the encounter, the artist admitted she was left red-faced over an error 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 abandoned formal royal protocol during her first sitting with Louise.
“She walked in and waved and said, ‘Hello’,” Louise recalled. “She’s a seriously impressive person. She had to stand in heavy robes for two hours.
View 3 ImagesLouise Pragnell has built a reputation for her artwork
“Halfway through, I said, ‘Ma’am do you need a break?’. She was like, ‘No, do you need a break Louise?’.”
Princess Anne has since sat for Louise on two occasions. In 2025, the artist created a 2.5-metre portrait of the royal, commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Saddlers.
The painting depicts the 75-year-old in formal Intelligence Corps Mess Dress, with each colour carefully chosen for its historical significance.
Louise also recalled another awkward moment involving royalty. In 2023, she unveiled her portrait of the Irish Guards to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
However, just before the royal couple arrived, she discovered the easel was beginning to tip forwards.
“We had people lying on the floor with screwdrivers [to fix it with minutes to spare]”.
Reflecting on her experiences with members of the Royal Family, Louise said they were particularly good “at putting people at ease”.
View 3 ImagesLouise also spoke of an awkward moment before meeting the Prince and Princess of Wales (Image: Aaron Chown/PA Wire)
“They’ll want to feel that I’m going to get what I need,” she added.
Dame Joanna Lumley has also previously spoken about Princess Anne’s calm and reassuring nature.
Recalling the moment she received her damehood at Buckingham Palace in 2022, for services to drama, entertainment, and charitable causes, the actress admitted she began to “choke up”.
“It was only a small ceremony, hardly any people, 24 people there,” she shared on Chris Evans’ Virgin Radio Breakfast Show.
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“So it wasn’t like the big ones where they have the whole ballroom there and bands playing and everything – this was really quiet.”
On meeting the Princess Royal, Dame Joanna revealed the kind words Anne used to put her at ease.
“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’.”