Princess Anne hates being in the limelight despite being ‘hardest working member’, claims royal expert
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: A royal commentator has claimed that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s only daughter, Princess Anne, does not like to be in the limelight despite being “the hardest working member of the Royal Family”. Richard Fitzwilliam told Fox News Digital, “One of the reasons that not much is known about Princess Anne is because that is the way she likes it. She is the hardest working member of the Royal Family but doesn’t like the publicity. It’s her style; she has always stunned us.”
But things changed when Her Majesty died on September 8. Since then, the 72-year-old has been in front and center, alongside her three brothers, one of whom is the King of England now. When on Wednesday, September 14, the Queen’s coffin was transported to Westminster Hall from Buckingham Palace, Anne walked side by side with King Charles, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew.
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Fitzwilliam said, “The fact she was with The Queen’s body is significant because it was a symbol of how valuable she is to the Royal Family. She is very supportive of King Charles. She won’t be doing more because she couldn’t possibly do more, she is already doing so much for the family.”
Following the death of the monarch, Anne was one of the senior members of the family, who issued a statement and described how she was with her mother during her last moments. The statement from the 72-year-old Princess Royal read: “I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.”
She continued, “We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and every one who share our sense of loss. We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted. I am also so grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of The Monarch. To my mother, The Queen, thank you,” she added.
However, Anne is not only particular about her own privacy but also for her children — Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, whom she shares with her first husband, Mark Phillips. Royal expert Shannon Felton Spence explained, “The letters patent says that the grandchildren of a sovereign but through a male heir so Princess Anne's children do not have titles. Their father was granted a title when he married Princess Anne, so they have a title and Anne obviously has the Princess Royal title by birth. Their children were then eligible for titles, but they wouldn’t have been Prince and Princess they would have been Duke and Duchess or Lady and Master, for example.”
Also, a 2020 Vanity Fair article states that “she broke with royal tradition by choosing not to give them HRH titles when they were born, a peerage she would have been offered from the queen.” In the same piece, Anne herself said: “I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles. So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”