Princess Anne has broken her silence on the “decline” in support of the royals in a new TV interview appearance ahead of King Charles’ coronation.
Princess Anne is currently on a visit to Canada. She appeared on the Canadian news channel CBC and gave her thoughts on the monarchy under King Charles. A recent poll from YouGov suggested 58% of people preferred to keep the monarchy instead of an elected head of state.
Princess Anne interview: ‘We don’t need to deal with it’
CBC correspondent Adrienne Arsenault asked Princess Anne about the “decline” in the popularity of the royal family. She said: “Because we are in this moment of transition, it’s not unnatural that people are having conversations about the monarchy, and the place of the monarchy. In various countries, Canada included.” She added: “Some of the recent polling is suggesting that there is a drop in the percentage of people who would like to see the monarchy continue. How do you deal with that as a family?”
Princess Anne responded with a candid response: “We don’t, in many respects, need to deal with it. Not least of all because it is the monarch, that is the key to this. And the constitution that underpins the monarchy. 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 understanding in the way that people in communities want to live their lives.”
She added: “I think so often, we get the chance to see communities and the people who do things really well. They are very generous with their time in a way that, if you look at the media, you tend not to get that impression.”
Anne ‘doesn’t think’ King Charles will change
Adrienne also asked: “Are there conversations about relevance?” Princess Anne admitted: “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 in any other way.”
He is committed to his own level of service. That will remain true.
Adrienne continued: “And when we think about this duty, this role that the King has taken on, what sort of King do you think he’ll be?” Princess Anne laughed and said: “Well, you know what you’re getting because he has been practising for a bit. I don’t think he’ll change. He is committed to his own level of service. That will remain true.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Anne also addressed calls for a “slimmed down” monarchy. She said: “Well, I think the ‘slimmed down’ was said in a day when there were a few more people around. It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing. I’m not quite sure what else we can do.”
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