His word is very rare in the media, and yet, this Tuesday, May 2, Princess Anne granted a television interview to the CBS News channel.
Questioned by the Canadian journalist Adrienne Arsenault, the younger sister of Charles III delivered on various subjects.
Among which, the end of life of his father, prince Philip.
The only daughter of Elizabeth II notably confided that the coronavirus pandemic and the confinement it caused had deprived the Duke of Edinburgh of social interactions at the dawn of his life.
“The virus kind of stole my dad.”
And for good reason, as told by Princess Anne quoted by the
Daily Mail
, his father was unable to receive visits “from many people who would have gone to see him and had conversations with him that would have interested him” if it had not been for the health restrictions.
Instead, Philip was allowed only enforced isolation like the rest of the population during this time.
"I'm sure there are many families who could tell you the same thing: that for older generations, losing contact and the ability [to talk to loved ones] was painful."
In video, after Prince Philip's funeral, William and Harry join Windsor Castle together
Princess Anne, 72, then returned to a strong moment, captured during Prince Philip's funeral: Queen Elizabeth II, all dressed in black (up to the mask), seated alone in front of the coffin of her husband, her " roc” as she called him, who supported her for more than seven decades with tireless devotion to the Crown.
When Adrienne Arsenault asks her if this was also a “theft”, to understand a moment stolen by the coronavirus, Anne is categorical: “Yes, you are absolutely right.”
Elizabeth II at her husband Philip's funeral at St. George's Chapel.
(Windsor, April 17, 2021.) Jonathan Brady / AFP
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“Leaving Balmoral was never easy”
Following which, the aunt of Princes William and Harry was very emotional when she recalled the repatriation of her mother's coffin from Balmoral, Scotland, to Buckingham Palace, after her death on September 8.
"It was an impressive sight, but that's not all: the way people reacted and how they did things was very touching," she recalled.
(...) Leaving Balmoral was never easy, it never was.
I was just as unhappy when I had to leave as a child.”
Finally, at the end of the interview, when asked if she was worried about the future of the British royal family, Princess Anne replied with a resounding “no”.
Still, she hinted that she doesn't always understand her older brother's choices.
In this case, she disapproves of Charles III's wish to tighten the monarchy to only a close guard composed of a few members.
“I think this project of a reduced monarchy was viable at a time when there were a few more people working for the Crown.
From my position, that doesn't seem like a good idea."
In video, the love story of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip