Princess Anne’s subtle dig at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in unearthed TV interview

Princess Anne appeared to make a subtle dig at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when discussing King Charles’s vision for a slimmed-down monarchy in an unearthed video from last year.

The Princess Royal sat down for an interview with Canadian public broadcaster CBC just before Charles’s Coronation last May and talked about what the monarchy under her brother’s reign would be like.

Before the King’s Coronation, it had long been known that he was keen to take on a fresh approach to how the institution works and aim for a more streamlined operation, with fewer senior royals at the wheel.

During the interview, Anne said that it did not sound like a good idea and that when that suggestion was made there were “a few more people around”.

It is believed that the phrase “few more people” could be referring to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who quit their royal duties and moved to the US in 2020, as well as Prince Andrew, who stepped down as a working royal in 2019.

There were also the deaths of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Anne said: “Well, I think the ‘slimmed-down’ (monarchy) was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment.”

Commenting on whether the “world changes”, Anne replied: “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.

Elsewhere, the princess commented on “conversations about relevance”, saying: “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.