An emotional Princess Anne today spoke of her heartache leaving Balmoral after the Queen’s death, recounting the ‘moving’ moment she saw thousands of grieving Britons lining the streets to say goodbye.
In a rare and candid interview, the stoic Princess Royal, 72, opened up about her relationship with her late mother and paid tribute to the “great number of people” who lined the roads from Balmoral to Edinburgh, and later from London to Windsor following Death of the Queen.
The Princess, who was seen visibly moved as she walked her mother’s coffin in a funeral procession last September, said she “took a lot” as she walked past mourners, adding that she “had spotted people ‘she knew on the way’.
She told Canada’s CBC News in a poignant interview: ‘It was such an impressive sight, and it was more than that because it was really touching (to see) how people reacted and how they did. things. …
“The number of people who showed up in some pretty amazing places, you’re never going to miss that and the atmosphere that it created.”
In a rare interview with CBC News in Canada, Princess Anne opened up about her heartache leaving Balmoral after the Queen’s death, recounting the ‘moving’ moment she was to thousands of grieving Britons in the streets to say goodbye
Reflecting on the tens of thousands of mourners who lined the street to bid their final farewells to the Queen, Princess Anne said it was a “moving” and “impressive site”.
In Glenfarg, a Perth village and Kinross horsemen lined the fields surrounding the road where the Queen’s motorcade passed
The Princess spoke of the number of people from rural communities across Scotland who took out their ponies and horses, after braiding the tail.
Tractors lined the road, looking “tidy, all clean”, which the grieving girl said was “an amazing site”.
When asked how she felt leaving the Queen’s beloved Balmoral with her mother for the last time, she spoke of her own pain.
The Princess said: “Leaving Balmoral was never easy, but it never was, I mean I was just as bad when I left as a kid.”
The Queen had chosen her only daughter to accompany the funeral procession, seeing Princess Anne take on perhaps the most difficult role in the wake of the monarch’s death.
Pictured, driven in a Bentley behind the hearse, Anne, who was accompanied by her husband of 30 years, Sir Timothy Laurence, was visibly moved as she watched the members of the public who had come to pay their respects.
The mother and daughter had maintained a close bond, which was evident whenever they were seen together.
Princess Anne, the Queen’s only daughter, was chosen by her mother to accompany the funeral procession on the six-hour journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh (pictured). Talking about that day in September, she said it wasn’t “easy”
Throughout the interview, the Princess also spoke about her unusually close relationship with her mother, the Queen (pictured at Royal Ascot in 2013)
Princess Anne, the Queen’s only daughter, was chosen by the Queen to accompany her coffin. As she walked past thousands of mourners, she looked visibly upset
Reflecting poignantly on her and the Queen’s exceptionally close mother-daughter bond, she said: “The relationship tends to stay if you’re lucky very similar throughout your life.”
Throughout the interview, the Princess then reflected on the future of the British monarchy.
Coming to the defense of the monarchy, she insisted it continued to bring ‘long-term stability’ and ‘goodness to the UK and the Commonwealth’, warning it should not be further reduced .
In recent years, since 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have resigned from their jobs and Prince Andrew has been stripped of his HRH, sponsorships and military affiliations by the late Queen.
Before becoming king, Charles was vocal about wanting fewer working royals and a cheaper, smaller institution.
During the interview, the Princess defended the British monarchy, suggesting the royal family does not need to be ‘cut back’ any further. Pictured: King Charles and Princess Anne in Aberdeenshire a week before their mother died
But the princess suggested that the number of working royals was already small enough.
She said, “Well, I think the ‘lighter’ was said on a day when there were a few more people around. Doesn’t seem like a good idea from where I’m standing I would say. I’m not sure what else we can do.”
Adding his defense of the monarchy, which has seen a backlash in some Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand in recent days, said: ‘There will be [conversations about relevance] everywhere. It’s not a conversation I would necessarily have.
“It is perfectly true that there is a time when you have to have this discussion, but I would just like to point out that the monarchy offers, with the constitution, a degree of long-term stability that is actually quite difficult to obtain otherwise. .’
When asked what kind of king her brother would be, the humorous princess joked: ‘Well you know what you get because he’s been training for a while and I don’t think he’ll change’ .
It comes as a new poll revealed in the Mail today that most think the King should apologize for the historic links between the monarchy and slavery, something Charles recently signaled his support for.