Perhaps just understanding some terms could be useful.
You aren't stupid at all, you just don't know the Specrum, that's all!
"Kempston" and "Sinclair" were two joystick standards used at that time.
My advice is to try again with the "QAOP" option and you should be able to move the princess around.
Q= up
A= down
O= left
P= right
I don't remember if the trigger button is SPACE or M, I must verify that.