Princess Anne once gave a striking warning to the younger generations of the royal family during a rare interview.
The Princess Royal—second child and only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and the sole sister of King Charles III—has always been known for speaking her mind when it comes to the monarchy.
Plans for the Future
Recently, the Sunday Times’ royal correspondent, Roya Nikkhah, shared how Anne intends to spend her later years.
According to Gloucestershire Live, Nikkhah revealed on the Royals with Roya and Kate podcast: “I was told that she’s told her team, ‘I’m going to start winding down a little bit at 80 in five years’ time, and then I want to step back completely at 90.’”
This means the royal family has only five more years before Anne begins to ease her relentless schedule.
Nikkhah noted the similarity between Anne’s plan and her father’s: “I thought the timeline was interesting – that she’s looking at her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who stepped back from public life completely at 96.”
Despite that, her current full diary shows she has no intention of slowing down just yet.
A Message for the Younger Royals
Anne, who will turn 75 on Friday, August 15, has also shared her thoughts on how the younger royals approach their roles.
In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, she cautioned against efforts to redefine or modernise the monarchy, saying that those ideas had already been tested. Her warning was simple: “not reinvent that wheel.”
“I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past, and it’s often true, isn’t it?” she explained. “You don’t necessarily look at the previous generations and say, ‘Oh, you did that? Or, you went there?’”
Commenting on how royals such as Prince William and Prince Harry often look for new approaches, Anne expressed doubt about their value: “And I’m already at the stage, ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel.’ We’ve been there, done that, some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.”
Who Was She Referring To?
Anne never mentioned any names in her remarks to Vanity Fair. However, her words sparked speculation that she may have been hinting at Prince William’s support for a streamlined monarchy—an idea he shares with his father, King Charles.
Her comments also came shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step away from their senior royal roles and move to the United States.