Princess Anne takes the train 'quite often' as famous neighbour reveals her down-to-earth Cotswolds life

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Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen revealed he is on 'nodding terms' with the Princess Royal

The Princess Royal may be renowned as the most industrious member of the Royal Family, regularly clocking up more than 470 official engagements annually, but her existence away from public duties paints an entirely different picture.

At her 500-acre Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire, the 76-year-old leads a remarkably understated life that stands in sharp contrast to her tireless schedule of royal appearances.

The historic property, which dates to the late eighteenth century, sits not far from King Charles's own countryside residence at Highgrove House. It offers the Princess Royal vast grounds and seclusion from the public gaze.

Yet rather than retreating behind the estate's boundaries, Anne has become a familiar and unremarkable presence in the surrounding Cotswolds community, where neighbours treat her as one of their own.

Television presenter and interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who resides in the nearby village of Siddington, told the Daily Express that he frequently crosses paths with the Princess Royal at their shared local railway station.

"I've met her on the train quite often, yeah, we're on kind of nodding terms," he said. "She travels with a few burly but super smart military types, all very, very unfussy. No one bats an eyelid; we're all used to her."

Despite having the option of chauffeured transport from her private estate, Anne evidently favours the more ordinary route via Kemble station, which provides regular services to London Paddington.

The former Changing Rooms star added that the King himself was once a regular on the same line. "Prince [now King] Charles used to do it lots as well, at our local station Kemble," he noted.

Mr Llewelyn-Bowen revealed that he encounters Anne's children regularly in the area, with both Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall maintaining homes on the Gatcombe estate.

"I see her children quite a lot, Peter is someone we know quite well and again, this is one of them things about our end of the Cotswolds, is that everyone sort of gets on well with each other in a very informal way," he said.

He distinguished his corner of the Cotswolds and the Oxfordshire set, where high-profile figures such as Beyoncé and Ellen DeGeneres have been known to settle.

"With us, it's much more informal. Most of the time we're all just people in the community, we're all just parents at the school gate," he explained.

The well-connected Paddington service also draws plenty of recognisable faces. "There are moments where the train to Paddington is more star-studded than the Expresso Bar at The Ivy," he quipped.

Royal author Robert Hardman has described Gatcombe as Anne's "happy place," emphasising that she is at heart a countrywoman. "She's a very good grandmother; she's a hands-on, but like all grandchildren, I think they can get away with things. She dotes on them," he shared.

Ailsa Anderson, who previously served as communications secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, offered a similar perspective in remarks to Hello!. "Gatcombe is the bolthole where she is not the Princess Royal; she is Anne," she said.

Ms Anderson pointed to the relaxed family atmosphere on the estate, where Zara and Mike Tindall still live, and Peter and his wife Harriet are close by. She described the Princess Royal as a devoted mother and grandmother who can be spotted in jeans at horse trials, showing her grandchildren the ropes.