Princess Anne has spoken openly about her experiences with the media and how she has often come into conflict with the press because of the way she has been portrayed.

The Princess Royal, who celebrates her 74th birthday on Thursday, has been described as “bad-tempered” and “sulky” due to her direct demeanor. Another article said she left children unhappy after a brief visit to their school.

In an interview that came to light in a 1981 documentary titled “Princess Anne: Her Working Life,” the mother of two children directly addressed these portrayals.

When asked if the negative press worried her, she answered bluntly: “No,” before adding with a smile: “It’s too late anyway.”

As Anne continued to talk about how the different levels of the press interacted with her, she noted that the local reporters present at the events had a more direct experience than their national counterparts who were absent.

The Princess also insisted that it may have been because I did not fit the expected royal image, adding: “Tell me, I don’t fit their image. I just don’t fit the box they think I should fit into.”

When asked why she doesn’t put herself in the spotlight for the media, Anne replied: “I don’t do stunts, if that’s what you mean.”

She added that her obligations were for the benefit of those who invited her, not to appease the press.

“I’m not going for their benefit, I’m going for the people who ask me,” she revealed.

“And to a certain extent the publicity you get for them is all you’re going to get, but I’m still concerned about their benefit and if I think it’s a ploy just to please their editors, I don’t really see why I should do it.

“Especially when it has nothing to do with the program or what I’m doing and they just put it in. Usually that upsets everyone except them.”

She is known for her witty remarks and recently shared an example on the podcast “The Royals with Roya and Kate.”

During a visit to the Riding for the Disabled Association, a teenager reportedly told the Princess Royal that she “didn’t look like a princess.”

One of the podcast hosts explained: “I spoke to a very senior person at the RDA who recalled coming to see a performance by some children at an RDA event. The children we work with as volunteers at the RDA all have varying degrees of learning disabilities, autism and physical disabilities. There was a girl who was involved in the performance and they came afterwards to meet Princess Anne.”

They continued: “And she was introduced to her and (they) said, ‘This is the Princess Royal’ and she said, ‘You don’t look like a princess.'”

“Princess Anne said: ‘Thank God, I’m very pleased to hear that.’

“Everyone laughed at her answer and she takes things literally in her stride.”