Princess Anne has spoken about the future of the monarchy in a rare interview ahead of the coronation on Saturday.
The Princess Royal sat down with Canadian TV channel, CBC News, in which she praised the King and reflected on the death of her beloved mother.
Anne, 72, stated that the public knows what to expect from Charles as a monarch, saying: “Well, you know what you’re getting because he’s been practicing for a bit, and I don’t think he’ll change. He is committed to his own level of service, that will remain true.”
Anne was also asked about those who question the relevance of the monarchy – despite recent polls suggesting the royal family’s popularity is at an all-time high.
“We don’t, in many respects, need to deal with it [a drop-in people who want the monarchy to continue], not least of all because it is the monarch that is the key to this and the constitution that underpins the monarchy,” she said. “We as a family see ourselves as there to support that role.”
Anne continued: “What we do, we hope, contributes to the monarchy and the way in which it can convey continuity, not just of interest but service and understanding the way that people and communities want to live their lives.
“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.”
She concluded: “There will be [conversations about relevance] everywhere. It’s not a conversation that I would necessarily have.
“It’s perfectly true that there is a moment when 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.”
Anne also reflected on the death of her mother, the Queen, in the interview.
Speaking about the days traveling the country during the mourning period, she said: “I think we took a lot of it in, partly because we knew the route and I did actually spot people I knew on the way.
“It was such an impressive sight and it was more than that because it was really touching in the way that people responded and how they did things.
“People brought their ponies and horses out, but they not only brought them out, they plaited them, they were properly dressed and well turned out. They brought their tractors out, and they parked them tidily, they were all clean.
“If you come from a rural background I was really impressed, it was just an astonishing sight. But the sheer numbers of people who turned up in quite extraordinary places.
“You’re never going to miss that and the atmosphere it created. Leaving Balmoral was never easy, but then it never has been. I was just as bad when I was leaving as a child because I didn’t like leaving, [I was happy there].”
