Princess Anne recalled sneaking out of Buckingham Palace to visit Silverstone to try her hand at racing cars with Sir Jackie Stewart on a video call for his dementia charity.
Princess Royal, 70, who lives on the Gatcombe Estate in Gloucester, joins the 81-year-old Formula 1 champion, in a virtual meeting where they remember their enduring friendship.
In a recorded call in support of his charity “Race Against Dementia” and shared it yesterday OnlineClose friends laughed as they recalled a trip to Silverstone in the early 1970s “no one knew about at Buckingham Palace.”
Sir Jackie said the king seemed to be “ disappointed ” to tell he was going to drive, adding: “ I finally got out of the car and got off, and we can barely get you out of the car after that, and God knows how many turns you did. ”
Princess Anne, 70, recalled that she slipped out of Buckingham Palace to visit Silverstone to try her hand in the race with Sir Jackie Stewart on a video call for his dementia charity.
The couple discussed meeting in December 1971 at the award ceremony, and shared a laugh when they remembered how the princess was late because she was cleaning the stables.
Princess Anne said, “This was a long time ago. It’s a little miracle that we’re still here.”
She joked about her work ethic regarding horse care, which she said the Queen, 94, pushed her to.
She said: We bought it like this. My mom was so eager to do all of these things, not just have a dowry thrown in. We were bought to do the entire job.
During the call, the two remembered their enduring friendship after meeting for the first time in December 1971
Princess Anne admitted she was “not the best passenger in the world” during a gossip discussion with Sir Jackie
They went to remember a trip to Silverstone together, where Sir Jackie said that when he arrived to pick her up in Windsor, the princess was very disappointed to be told he would drive.
He explained, “That has not changed if I may say, you are a driver more than any other woman I know.”
“I was always keen to be behind the wheel, which is for sure.”
Sir Jackie remembered driving her on a “very hot British car” tour before the King took over.
The close friendship of Sir Jackie Stewart and the Royal Princess
Close friends recalled their years of getting to know each other after they met at the awards ceremony in 1971 (pictured, at the ceremony)
1969 – Sir Jackie wins his first Formula One world championship
1971 – Sir Jackie wins his second World Championship. Also assigned to OBE.
The Royal Princess won a gold medal at the European Championships and was awarded the Sports Personality of the Year award on the BBC.
The couple met when selected from the sports Daily Express and Sportsman of the Year at the Savoy Hotel
1973 – Sir Jackie wins the Formula 1 World Championship for the third time and is awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award
1975 – The princess wins two silver medals at the European Art Championships
1976 – Sshe becomes the first member of the royal family to compete in the Olympics, rides the Queen’s horse, Goodwill, in a three-day equestrian event
2001 – Sir Jackie is awarded the Equestrian Medal
He said, “I was giving you an alert because the race tracks are very connected, and it’s not like you can see the speed you’re entering into turns, and of course you didn’t need to tell you all that.”
The king laughed: ‘I’ll take your word for it. I wasn’t the best passenger in the world, I didn’t feel good.
“That’s my excuse, I wasn’t a good traveler just because I felt, not because of the quality of the driver and honesty.”
She added, “You took us around first and then released us.”
Sir Jackie stated that “no one from Buckingham Palace knows” that Princess Anne will visit Silverstone to drive racing cars.
Sir Jackie went on to recall a “gorgeous” photograph of the princess sitting at Tyrrell 003, which he had planned to sell initially.
But he said Walter Hayes, who was Ford’s CEO of PR and who first signed with a relatively unknown Sir Jackie at the time in 1965, convinced him not to do so.
He added, “It seems that no one, at the time, from Buckingham Palace and beyond, knew that you were in Silverstone driving racing cars, so he managed to stop them.”
During the call, the couple also discussed trips to Gleneagles for pigeon shooting events and learning to drive on karts.
The couple has maintained a close friendship over the years, with Sir Jackie Stewart being regularly seen attending church in Sandringham alongside the Royal Princess
Princess Anne went on to talk of her pride in her daughter’s equestrian success, and said that being able to win her a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012 was “fun”.
She said, “It’s never easy to follow if your parents are successful in a sport.
She often wondered if this was something that she really wanted to do but she was talented by nature and had made it herself.
After meeting at an awards ceremony in 1971, the couple quickly became friends and remained close, with Jackie’s wife Lady Stuart the godmother to the princess’ daughter, Zara Tindall.
Sir Jackie is regularly seen attending church with Princess Anne at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham during the festive season over the years.
