Princess Anne reveals what she really thinks of Meghan and Harry with thinly veiled dig

Princess Anne took a swipe at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when she was interviewed by Adrienne Arsenault last year about plans for a more ‘slimmed-down’ Royal Family. The Princess Royal did not appear to be in favour of the idea, perhaps understandably so as she has been taking on even more royal duties so far this year. She said the plan to have fewer working royals had come about when there were “a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment”.

Two of the “few people” she is referring to are likely to be Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who stepped down as working royals in 2020 and moved to the US. Another likely candidate is Prince Andrew, who was forced to quit his position after questions emerged surrounding his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The loss of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in quick succession also had a knock-on effect on the number of working royals, particularly as they kept up with their duties as much as they could even in their nineties.

A number of other working royals, such as the Duke of Kent and Duke of Gloucester, are quite elderly and having to take a step back. The Princess, who gave her honest opinion on the King having a slimmed-down monarchy, said: “It changes a bit. I mean, it doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I have to say. “I’m not quite sure what else, you know, we can do.” Anne was then asked whether there were “conversations about relevance” of the monarchy, to which she replied: “There will be, everywhere. It’s not a conversation that I would necessarily have.

“I think it’s perfectly true that it is a moment where you need to have that discussion. But I would just underline that the monarchy provides, with the constitution, a degree of long-term stability that is actually quite hard to come by any other way.” When asked about her role now her older brother Charles is King she answered: “We as a family see ourselves there to support that role.

“What we do, we hope, contributes to the monarchy and the way in which it can convey continuity, of not just interest, but of service, of understanding, the way that people in communities want to live their lives. “And I think so often we get the chance to see communities and the people who do things really well and are very generous with their time in a way that, if you look at the media, you tend not to get that impression.”

Princess Anne is frequently named as one of the hardest-working members of the Royal Family, undertaking the most engagements each calendar year.