Princess Anne surprises lingerie brand with 'very cool, very feminist' observations and some handy advice

As the President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association for more than 40 years, it’s not unusual for Princess Anne to visit a variety of businesses and factories. Even so, one of her recent outings has come as quite a surprise to fans.

The Princess Royal paid a visit to Edge o’ Beyond, a luxury lingerie brand based in South Wales, where she gamely posed in front of walls of lingerie and unveiled a plaque for the business. During her visit, Princess Anne put her famed practical nature to good use, reportedly diving straight in offering solutions to a problem regarding underwiring on the bras.

She also listened to conversations about censorship on the female body and her open-mindedness was described as "very cool" and "very feminist" by the founder of the company, as per The Telegraph.

Naomi De Haan reportedly hailed Princess Anne as being "very cool, very interested in everything", adding that she "came across as very feminist".

She also shared how the King's sister came up with suggestions for finding underwire strong enough for bras in larger sizes. The practical Princess mentioned that she recently visited a mattress firm that makes its own steel springs, and suggested the lingerie company get in touch with them about crafting their own wire support.

Addressing other conversations that came up, the Princess Royal is said to have heard about how corsets are made now that whale bone isn’t used and problems with advertising lingerie on social media due to the "censorship of the female body".

Revealing that the visit ended with a trip to the factory’s cafeteria, Naomi shared that they weren’t expecting the Princess Royal to spend long there, but she stepped in to talk to staff and unveiled a plaque on a wall surrounded by different lingerie sets.

As reported by The Telegraph, the founder later said of the visit, "It was an immense honor to welcome Her Royal Highness to our atelier. Her deep understanding of the fashion and textile industry and her genuine curiosity were inspiring for our whole team."

"This visit is recognition of the exceptional skills of our technicians and a celebration of keeping British lingerie craftsmanship alive," Naomi added.

After the brand shared photos of the visit on their social media, fans were quick to praise the Princess Royal for "supporting women and sexy underwear".

One fan described the photo of Princess Anne smiling in front of different lingerie pieces as "iconic" and another added it was the "best picture of Princess Anne of all time". She certainly didn't seem at all phased!