Princess Anne has appeared to take a thinly-veiled dig at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when speaking out about the King’s possible slimmed-down monarchy.
The royal, who celebrates her 73rd birthday next week, was previously interviewed by Adrienne Arsenault.
The Princess Royal, who has been dubbed the hardest-working royal, said that the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy came about when there were “a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment”.
Her comment regarding a “few more people” has left many people wondering if she could have been taking a subtle swipe at her nephew and his wife.
Harry and Meghan made the decision to step down from royal duties in 2020, before moving out of the UK shortly after the official announcement.
Some speculated she could have been referring to Prince Andrew, who also stepped back from royal duties a few years ago.
Others believed she could have meant the late Queen and Prince Philip. Although both were still active in their roles until the very end, the couple did limit their roles to a certain extent – particularly Prince Philip.
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.”
The interviewer then asked Anne about whether there were “conversations about relevance”.
The Princess Royal 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.”
Princess Anne then spoke about what she feels her role alongside her brother is, particularly since he is now the King.
She said: “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.”
Meghan and Harry now live in Montecito with their two children, Archie, four and two-year-old Lilibet.
