Anne is known for her busy work schedule and she said there was a need to “get out and find out what’s going on”.
Her comments came at the end of a successful three-day visit to Sri Lanka with her husband where she was pictured carrying some of her bags down the steps of the plane when they first arrived on Tuesday.
The princess, who is president of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, also suggested clothing manufacturers might return to a period when garments could be altered for a new use rather than thrown away – in a bid to improve sustainability.
The princess, 73, has been dubbed the King’s “right-hand woman” thanks to her support for her brother, and her reputation as one of the most hard-working royals in Charles’s slimmed-down monarchy.
Interviewed by the PA news agency, she was asked about her workload and replied: “Well, I think in the context of the monarchy it takes more than one person to be able to stay in contact, and we’re part of the eyes and ears.
“So, as much as possible, we just want to get out and find out what’s going on and help support people who are doing an incredibly good job, wherever they are in the country and that applies here too.
“You look around here, there are charities here that are well established, and they do a fantastic job and that kind of ethos has to be supported, wherever you find it, so that’s not difficult.”
Anne has toured Sri Lanka over the past three days with her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, beginning in the capital Colombo where she visited MAS, a company producing sportswear and active clothing including tops for tennis star Novak Djokovich.
And for the past 30 years it has been manufacturing underwear and lingerie for Marks and Spencer.
Her visit to the clothing company was also to learn about its efforts to produce sustainable garments and she commented to PA about the “ubiquitous T-shirt which was churned out in millions”.
She added: “…what do you do with them next? Nobody really thought that one through and they are going to have to think about that sort of thing in the future.”
“You think about how much is going into landfill.”
She suggested whether a return to traditional processes of clothing manufacture might be the answer.
Anne said: “You go through the phase when fashion was very structured and people followed fashion, but you had tailors and dressmakers who absolutely fundamentally made that, but you could also alter it because they had the skills to do so.”
“Now you’ve got instant fashion which you then throw away, you don’t alter it because it wouldn’t be worthwhile.”
“So whether we’ve got to relearn those skills, go back and say ‘actually, we need materials that can do more than one evolution of fashion’.”
