Princess Anne allowed a rare look into her life in a candid new interview with Vanity Fair , in celebration of her 70th birthday in August.

Queen Elizabeth II s only daughter spoke of the difficulty of having a title and also gave insight into the differences between how those of her generation in the royal family approach such matters as philanthropic endeavours, contrasted with the way younger royals do things.

Anne described herself as the boring old fuddy-duddy at the back saying, Dont forget the basics.

I dont think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and its often true, isnt it? Anne told the magazine.

You dont necessarily look at the previous generation and say, Oh, you did that? Or, You went there? Nowadays, theyre much more looking for, Oh lets do it a new way, she continued, before describing her attitude toward any new ideas.

And Im already at the stage, Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. Weve been there, done that. Some of these things dont work, she said. You may need to go back to basics.