Britain's Princess Anne is a "hands-on grandmother."

Princess Anne

Princess Anne

The 65-year-old royal - the daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip - may spend the majority of her time attending royal engagements around the country but she thoroughly enjoys letting her hair down when she's around her grandchildren Savannah, five, Isla, four, and Mia, two.

A source told the Daily Mail newspaper: "Anne is hands-on as a grandmother, and the older they get, the more she will be. Riding lessons, sailing lessons; she'll instruct the girls in these things and more. She admires courage but is not afraid to discipline the girls with a sharp word."

But, for now, the princess enjoys playing games and running around after her young grandchildren because she wants to encourage them to grow up as "country girls" - just like her.

The insider explained: "Anne loves to play games with them, the messier the better. Her influence on the little ones is clearly shown in the fact they're country girls who love getting filthy and mucking about."

Anne is even keen to have more grandchildren running around and has asked her daughter Zara and her husband Mike Tindall - who are the parents of little Mia - to have another child as soon as possible.

The source added with a giggle: "Anne's so keen on the role of grandmother she's not-that-jokingly encouraging Zara and Mike to hurry up and have another one."

Savannah and Isla belong to Anne's son Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn.