Princess Anne: Charles won’t change as King

Princess Anne shared her famous sense of humour while on a royal visit to St James’s Cemetery in Dover on the Kent coast, in which she inspected recently restored military graves.

The cemetery honours those who died serving before 1914, with those dying in World War One or after having their memorial sites taken care of by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

One of the graves visited by the Princess Royal was that of Sergeant Major Charles Wooden, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving a soldier’s life under heavy fire during the Battle of Balaclava, however he met a rather less distinguished end.

The Princess was informed he was a “bit of a drunkard” who had accidentally shot himself in the head trying to dislodge a painful tooth.

After hearing the story she drily observed he had taken then “ultimate painkiller”, as she demonstrated her famous quick wit.

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In another humorous moment Anne was told the story of Gunner Andrew McDowell, who had been blown apart by a cannon while sitting in Dover harbour.

The unfortunate soldier was sitting directly in the line of fire of the new 42-pound cannon which someone erroneously believed they had been told to “fire”.

His arm was later discovered in the local town, but as the Princess studied his newly restored grave she observed: “It’s almost adding insult to injury putting a gun on there, isn’t it?”

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The Princess Royal was accompanied by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence during her visit on Tuesday, and as she was introduced to charity trustee and “tomb expert” Dr Roger Bowdler she joked: “See tomb, will travel.”

It was her second engagement out of four for the day, with Anne often labelled one of the most hard-working royals yet her dedication sometimes going unnoticed.

She became Patron of the Remembrance Trust in 2021, which was founded by North Sea oil pioneer and former Grenadier Guards officer Algy Cluff, now aged 83.

Anne spoke with the head of parks and open spaces at Dover District Council, Darren Solley, who explained he was trialling a new rewilding approach to improve biodiversity in the cemetery.

She remarked: “It’s quite a difficult balance, rewilding,” she commented. “Actually, you do look after it but it doesn’t look like it.

“You do have to cut it but it’s when you cut it that’s key – and what you do with the leftovers.”

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