Princess Anne just shared a rare insight into her grandchildren during a special engagement and they love this pastime

The Princess Royal recently paid her first visit to the Naval Children’s Charity (NCC) since becoming Patron earlier this year to mark its 200^th anniversary. This was likely a very special engagement for Princess Anne, who took over the role from her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen had been Patron for 70 years and family came up as a talking point during Princess Anne's time there. She doesn't often share anecdotes about her family, but made an exception to give an insight into one of her grandchildren's favorite hobbies.

The Princess Royal was presented with a children’s apron as a gift. She joked, "I don’t think that’s going to fit me!" before adding, "It might fit my grandchildren - they all cook, actually", as per Hello!.

"Unlike the Prince and Princess of Wales who regularly chat about their kids at engagements, this new insight is a rare thing to hear from Princess Anne," says woman&home's Royal Editor, Emma Shacklock. "That's what makes it especially heart-warming."

She adds, "It's lovely that her grandchildren are growing up learning how to cook and this is something they have in common with the Wales kids. George, Charlotte and Louis reportedly make cheesy pasta for Kate and who knows what culinary delights Anne's grandkids could be learning to whip up for her".

Princess Anne has five grandchildren - Savannah and Isla Phillips via her son Peter Phillips and Mia, Lena and Lucas Tindall via her daughter Zara Tindall. They all live very close to the Princess's Gatcombe Park home.

Zara and Mike Tindall are known to live on a farm on the Gatcombe Park estate whilst reports have suggested that Peter previously resided on the estate too. Meanwhile, Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence live in the main building.

Anne is known to be a hands-on grandmother. In Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, a 2020 documentary that aired on ITV in the UK, Peter spoke about what his mom is like as a grandmother - and how the kids are carrying on the royal tradition of horse riding.

He shared, "She loves seeing them ride, she loves having them round for Sunday lunches and taking them for walks. Doing all the things that we would do as kids."

In the documentary, Zara added that living on Gatcombe Park’s Aston Farm makes it easy for her and Mike to leave the kids with their grandmother. She joked, "We quite like leaving them on Sundays. We'll say, 'We'll pick them up later, bye.'"

As well as sharing this sweet detail about her grandchildren's other go-to hobby during her visit to The Naval Children's Charity, she spoke about families more generally. The Princess talked about boarding schools, offering her take that they help give children "stability".

"This is about families of people who serve and that is a difficult relationship sometimes, but it needs to be remembered and is at the forefront of what you do," she declared in a personal speech to staff, volunteers and naval families, as per Hello!. "When you're as scattered as the Naval families are, that can be a real challenge in a way that nobody else quite has. Thank you for maintaining that link."