Princess Anne had a strict rule that her kids Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips had to abide by on the Buckingham Palace balcony when celebrating the late Queen’s birthday

Princess Anne had a strict rule that her two kids had to abide by whenever they appeared on the royal balcony. The late Queen’s daughter made sure Zara Tindall and her brother Peter Phillips were on their best behaviour when they appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony to celebrate the deceased monarch’s birthday.

According to Peter Phillips, his mum was considered the Buckingham Palace balcony enforcer when it came to celebrating the late Queen’s official birthday.

He once told an ITV documentary marking the Princess Royal’s 70th birthday: “You then get a clip round the ear and say right, ‘behave yourself, you know, we’re going out on the balcony,’” he said. “Don’t pick your nose and you know, don’t yawn.”

Zara Tindall said that despite the strict rules, the birthday balcony event solidified her relationship with her cousins Prince William and Prince Harry

Previous footage of the Buckingham Palace balcony seems to back up the claims that Princess Anne keeps people in line on the iconic site. In 1987, a then-four-year-old Prince William couldn’t stand still during the Royal Air Force flyover and his aunt bent over to try and quiet him down.

Princess Anne has a reputation as the hardest-working royal, and she recently gave Princess Charlotte lessons on how to overcome an issue that Kate Middleton struggled with.

Kate Middleton allegedly found one aspect of talking to the public difficult when she first joined the royal family so her daughter Charlotte is reportedly learning how to deal with it from a young age.

While Charlotte appears to be managing admirably in such a high pressure environment for a young child of nine years, she is reportedly being guided in how to cope with royal life by her great aunt Anne. The Princess Royal is known for her strong work ethic and loyalty to her brother King Charles, so there’s no one more equipped to pass on their knowledge.

According to Woman magazine, Kate struggled with knowing how to move on from chatting to different people when she first started out as a working royal and reportedly received help from Anne too, just like she’s giving her daughter now. “Anne’s ‘training’, if you will, isn’t just about rank, file, and curtsies either,” an insider said.

“She’s shown her how to spark conversations, but also how to end one and move on without upsetting anyone. That was a tough one for Kate to learn, but Charlotte was born to royalty so is used to the subtle signals and messaging the royals give to stay in control of a situation.”