Clare Balding, who is known for her sports coverage, also commentated at a huge royal event, but was left red-faced after finding out something she said may have been interpreted “differently”
Clare Balding opened up about a mortifying gaffe involving Princess Anne(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Clare Balding has shared an embarrassing blunder she made on live television involving Princess Anne. The sports presenter revealed her most cringe-worthy moment during a recent interview, which involved the Princess Royal and an unfortunate comment about a horse.
Clare explained that the incident in question, where she made a certain observation about Anne, occurred during her commentary of King Charles’ coronation for the BBC.
Believing her comments to be perfectly sensible, it wasn’t until she returned home that her wife, fellow broadcaster Alice Arnold, pointed out that other people might have “interpreted” her words “differently.”
Speaking to Woman and Home magazine, Clare recalled: “I commentated on the parade at the coronation, and there’s something I said that made perfect sense to me, coming from a background working with horses, which was, ‘There’s the Princess Royal, who you may have seen make a hasty exit from Westminster Abbey, and she has been swiftly mounted’.”
She continued: “When I got home, Alice said that other people may have interpreted this differently, and I think a lot of people found it funny. Hopefully, including the Princess Royal!”
Clare Balding said the incident occurred during an important royal event(Image: BAFTA via Getty Images)
Clare, who is also renowned for her coverage of major sporting events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, has worked for BBC Sport, BT Sport and Channel 4, and was even a leading amateur jockey.
Meanwhile, in other news, Clare has recently spoke candidly about the challenges she and Alice encountered after losing their beloved Tibetan terrier, Archie, back in 2020.
It came to light during an appearance at the Good Woof festival on the Alright, Pet? podcast, in which the presenter explained why the previous summer wasn’t suitable for welcoming a new four-legged companion.
She explained: “Here’s the thing about responsible dog ownership, I’m going to be away all this summer doing the Olympics and Paralympics, this is not the time to bring a dog into my life, our life.”
Clare has also mentioned it was wiser to hold off whilst they finished a “big sort of house building project” they were undertaking to relocate to a new property with additional room.
Claire thought her words made “perfect sense” at the time(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
She continued: “And, we are also doing a big sort of house building project, so that we can move somewhere where we’ve got a bit more space, we’re not close to a road, and we can have doors open all the time.”
Nevertheless, the 54-year-old remains keen to bring a pet dog into her household. She confessed it was “killing” her being without one, but acknowledged that, for now, the “right thing” to do was be patient.
Throughout the summer, Clare fronted live Wimbledon coverage for the BBC and is scheduled to embark on a book tour promoting her latest work in September.