02 May 2023 , 10:07
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Princess Anne has given her verdict on slimming down the monarchy, warning: "It doesn't sound like a good idea from where I'm standing."
The Princess Royal sat down for an interview to discuss the changing monarchy, as well as the challenges it faces, ahead of King Charles' Coronation on Saturday.
The new monarch has already scaled down plans for the big day by shortening the procession and ceremony, alongside cutting the guest list to 2,200 people.
It is well known that Charles is in favour of trimming down the number of active royals, and even potentially opening Buckingham Palace to the public.
Plans under the title Operation Golden Orb outlined how the main working royals would include: King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate and Princess Anne.
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The Princess Royal sat down for an interview to discuss the changing monarchy (CBC News: The National/Youtube)Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, will also serve the King.
Anne - who is officially the hardest working royal - revealed her thoughts on the idea with Canadian public broadcaster CBC.
Chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault raised the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy and said it is difficult to imagine how the 72-year-old princess would have the time to take on more work.
Anne replied: “Well, I think the ‘slimmed-down’ (monarchy) was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment.”
CBC Chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault (CBC News: The National/Youtube)When it was put to her that the world changes, Anne 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.”
The royal family has gone through a lot of changes in recent years, with the deaths of both the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, the decision taken by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to quit as working royals, and the Duke of York stepping down from public life after his disastrous Newsnight interview and furore over his friendship with sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Anne was asked if there are “conversations about relevance”, and she replied: “There will be, everywhere. It’s not a conversation that I would necessarily have.
Anne is officially the hardest working royal (CBC News: The National/Youtube)“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.”
Asked whether Covid "stole" from her, Anne said: "In some respects, I tend to think it stole a bit from my father, who lost a lot of the people who would have gone to see him and talked to him and had those conversations that kept him interested.
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"He lost all of that. I'm sure there are lots of families that would tell you the same thing, for the older generation, losing those contacts... online didn't do it for everybody."
King Charles with Princess Anne at the late Queen's funeral last year (PA)And discussing a picture of the late Queen sitting by herself at Prince Philip's funeral, she replied: "In some ways, I'm glad we didn't see that at that moment. When you see the photograph, it is much worse somehow.
"And you saw more of that than we did accompanying the coffin."
Speaking about what kind of King her brother will be, Anne said: “Well, you know what you’re getting, because he’s been practising for a bit, and I don’t think he’ll change.
“He is committed to his own level of service. That will remain true.”
It was put to the princess that she does not seem worried about the health or the longevity of the monarchy, and she replied: “I think you’re putting words into my mouth, as they say.”
She said she believes there is “genuine benefit from this particular arrangement, the constitutional monarchy, and I think it has good long-term benefits”, adding: “And that commitment to long term is what the monarchy stands for.”