Princess Anne could help Prince Harry with his struggles over being the spare to the heir, a friend of the Royal Family has suggested. The insider pointed out that the Princess Royal, 72, was second to King Charles before being pushed further down the line of succession by Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, but has gone on to “forge her own path”.
The suggestion comes as Harry – who is living in the US with Meghan Markle after quitting royal duties in 2020 – has made a series of explosive claims about the Royal Family in his tell-all memoir Spare.
The source told the Sunday Times: “He really ought to talk to Princess Anne.
“She often talked about how, as children, she was treated so differently to Charles.
“She was second to him and kicked further down the line of succession as a woman, but she forged her own path.
“In her twenties she was bolshy and upset about a lot of things, but she came through that.
“He should talk to her about her experiences. She is shrewd, she could tell him a lot about what she went through.”
Anne, the late Queen’s only daughter, is known for her no-nonsense approach to royal life.
The equestrian became the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Olympic Games and her down-to-earth daughter Zara Tindall has followed in her footsteps.
Anne quietly carries out royal duties under the radar and is widely considered the hardest-working member of the monarchy. She is involved with over 300 charities, organisations and military regiments in the UK and overseas.
She is also often near the top of opinion polls on the popularity of members of the Royal Family.
Anne is fourth in YouGov’s latest favourability ratings, with only the late Queen, Prince William and Kate above her.
The suggestion that Harry – who is fifth in line to the throne – turns to his aunt comes as he has made a string of revelations in his memoir.
Spare is out on Tuesday but was accidentally put on sale early in some Spanish bookshops and has been the subject of headlines for days.
Harry has given a series of television interviews to promote the controversial tome, which sees him lay bare his struggles with royal life.
The memoir comes after several years of turmoil between the Sussexes and the royals in the wake of Megxit.
Among the most explosive claims Harry makes is that his older brother Prince William physically attacked him in a row over his marriage to Meghan at Nottingham Cottage in 2019.
Meanwhile, the former soldier has sparked a backlash for disclosing he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his service in Afghanistan.
And the 38-year-old goes into excruciating detail about losing his virginity to an unnamed older woman who treated him like a “young stallion” and “spanked my ass” in a field behind a pub in 2001 when he was 17.
The Prince of Wales, who is second in line to the throne, is said to be “burning” over the bombshell claims made by his younger brother about the monarchy.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have so far declined to comment on the book.
