An "RAF gentleman" once received a savage reply from Princess Anne when he asked a particular question after a flight, a former royal chef has claimed. Darren McGrady, who worked for Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales and Princes William and Harry for an impressive fifteen years, revealed that the incident occurred when the Princess Royal disembarked from a flight to Balmoral.

He dubbed Anne "fantastic" and compared her sense of humour to that of her late father, Prince Philip. Indeed, the royal's "wicked wit" is well-known and has even been reported upon previously. Darren shared the story ahead of her 75th birthday on August 15.

Darren noticed the encounter as he was "coming down the steps" and spotting an "RAF gentleman" who had found himself on the receiving end of Anne's humour as he greeted her after the flight.

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Speaking to Heart Bingo, Darren said: "I adore Princess Royal, I think she's fantastic. She has Prince Philip's sense of humour. I remember getting off the plane to Balmoral, and I was coming down the steps."

He continued: "There was an RAF gentleman greeting her. He said good afternoon and asked how the flight was. She was having none of it. She just said: 'Have you ever flown before'.

"He replied: 'Well yes, your Royal Highness', and she just replied 'well it was just like that'."

Despite celebrating her 75th birthday, Anne has stayed true to form and maintained her status as the Firm's hardest-working royal. Last year, she completed a whopping 474 engagements, outpacing even King Charles.

In a separate anecdote about the princess, Tanya Curry, the chief executive of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, shared an example of Anne's "stamina".

She admitted that she struggled to "keep up" with Anne during a royaltour that saw them visit Leeds Rhinos with the late rugby player Rob Burrow and his family.

She told Hello! magazine: "The stamina that she brings, mentally and physically, is amazing. I asked her if she wanted to take the lift or the stairs. She was up the stairs, as a security guard described, like a mountain goat.

"I was trying to keep up with her and have a conversation and not be out of breath, and it was all just in her stride. She walks into a room and lights it up."

A new photograph of Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, taken on the night of a Windsor Castle state banquet, was recently released to celebrate her birthday. In the image, Anne is pictured wearing her banquet gown and regalia.

In addition, Anne, who is linked to more than 300 charities and organisations, united a number of them at a Buckingham Palace forum this year. According to reports, this was the only way she wanted to celebrate her birthday.