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Anyone who tuned in to the celebrity version of The Traitors last year will be familiar with the former England rugby player Joe Marler. With the exception, it turns out, of Princess Anne who was involved in a case of mistaken identity during the Calcutta Cup pre-match formalities at Murrayfield last Saturday.
Clearly unaware Marler had retired from rugby 15 months ago, the Princess Royal stopped for a chat with her new favourite prop while being introduced to the England team in her role as patron of Scottish Rugby. She even confided how amusing she had found him on Celebrity Traitors, which would have been fine had the player in front of her been Marler rather than another bearded English front-rower, Joe Heyes.
“She thought I was Joe Marler which was … quite upsetting,” said Heyes. “She said: ‘You’re awfully funny on TV.’” To his credit, the 26-year-old Leicester tighthead – “I was a bit starstruck to start with” – did his best to avoid a diplomatic incident. “Who am I to correct her? I didn’t really know what to say. I almost went with it.”
The princess has been patron of Scottish Rugby since 1986 and her daughter Zara is married to Mike Tindall, an England World Cup winner. She is not the first person, however, to mix up Marler and Heyes.
“I’ve had all sorts about me looking like Joe Marler, but not from a royal,” said Heyes, who was winning his 19th cap for England. The Leicester forward, however, stressed that last Saturday’s encounter had still been a special one. “I do like it when you get to meet the patron of whatever union you’re playing against. It’s a very cool moment.”
Marler, 35, who won 95 caps for England before retiring from rugby in November 2024, has become an increasingly familiar public face since appearing on the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors. A slightly incongruous contestant in the castle alongside Stephen Fry, Alan Carr and Jonathan Ross, he reached the final round before being voted out.
