Last update: May 02, 2023, 6:12 p.m. IST
Britain’s King Charles III, Britain’s Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Britain’s Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex arrive at the Abbey from Westminster to London. (AFP)
Princess Anne’s comment comes as King Charles III reportedly tries to ‘reduce’ the monarchy to a team of just seven
Princess Anne insisted on Tuesday that Britain’s monarchy was in poor health and said she did not think a slimmed down monarchy was a “good idea”.
“Well, I think the ‘lite’ was said at a time when there were a few more people around. It doesn’t seem like a good idea from where I’m standing I would say. I don’t know too much what else we can do,” said the Princess Royal when asked about proposals to modernize the monarchy.
In an interview with Canada’s CBC News, the Princess came to the defense of the Royal Family and insisted they bring ‘long-term stability’, ‘continuity’ and ‘goodness’ to the UK and the Commonwealth.
The statement comes as King Charles III is reportedly trying to ‘reduce’ the monarchy to a team of just seven. The 74-year-old monarch will be officially crowned on Saturday May 6.
The line of succession on the British Royal Family website shows the 22 most senior members of the family. However, the king plans to whittle down the monarchy to a team of just seven key members, all royals.
Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, is often called the “hardest working royal” due to the number of engagements she attends in a year. In 2022, she topped the list with 214, compared to Charles’ 181.
Anne also said her brother King Charles was “committed” to the monarchy, after years of practice.
“I don’t think he will change. You know what you’re getting because he’s been training for a while,” she said.
“He is committed to his own level of service, and that will remain true,” she added.
Princess Anne’s comment comes as the royal family has seen many changes in recent years, including the deaths of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to leave the royal family.
Additionally, Prince Andrew has also stepped down from public life after his disastrous Newsnight interview and fury over his friendship with sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein.
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