Britain’s Princess Anne left the people of Australia stunned when she swore on her first ever royal walkabout in 1970.
A former private secretary of the Queen has claimed the 65-year-old royal – who was 19 at the time – angered the public in Sydney when she complained about the "bl**dy wind."
Writing in his book ‘The Royals in Australia’, Sir William Heseltine, the only Australian to serve as the Queen’s private secretary, claimed: "Princess Anne was quoted as referring to ‘this bloody wind,’ shocking many old-fashion Australians who could not believe that any member of the royal family … would use such language."
He added: "She had been having difficulty with her hat in the wind, and there was, unfortunately, no doubt at all that she had used the word, by no means unusually for her."
Sir William has stated the incident took place around the same time her father Prince Philip had uttered a "rude word" in Greek to a man who had greeted him in the crowd.
However, the 94-year-old royal denied he had used a foul-mouth phrase and has stood by his innocence ever since.
Sir William, 85, said: "On leaving the Sydney show-ground the press alleged that Prince Philip, on being greeted in Greek by someone in the crowd, had replied with a rude word in the same language in 1970."
He added: "I had to try and sort out this idiotic drama."
Princess Anne ‘swore’ in first Australia royal walkabout
