In the goldfish bowl of royal life, there are very few people whom those at the very top can trust, and for King Charles, the list is even shorter. Thankfully, though, the people he does have around him can be counted on for their dedication to duty, their tact and their iron-clad sense of discretion.
While this list includes the likes of his son, The Prince of Wales, and his brother, The Duke of Edinburgh, it is the female members of the Royal Family who provide the most solid basis for the King as he continues to navigate his hugely important role. Despite Queen Camilla being firmly included as Charles’s sounding board and rock, another close relative takes the top spot as the monarch’s ultimate confidante.
That person is the woman who has been by his side for 74 years – his younger sister, Princess Anne.
“The Princess Royal is his no-nonsense sibling: utterly loyal to the Crown, a consummate professional, someone Charles can lean on and turn to in good times and bad,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively tells The Express.
This close-knit relationship has lasted a lifetime and previously saw the King hand his sister the prestigious role of Gold-Stick-in-Waiting at his coronation, making her the person responsible for the personal safety of the monarch.
“She is solid and completely reliable,” Ms Bond continues. “I think Anne has become her brother’s confidante more than ever since he became King. She knows him inside and out, and he can tell her anything. She is a valuable sounding board and a source of infinitely sensible advice.”
Princess Anne’s famous no-nonsense approach is what makes her so respected, not only by the public but by her elder brother, too. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has a reputation for speaking her mind, including against the King’s plans for a slimmed-down monarchy, as she quite simply said it “doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
Appearing on Canadian news network CBC News in 2023, the subject of a more streamlined Royal Family was raised, and the Princess had a very quick response.
She replied: “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.”
When it was put to her that the world changes, Anne said: “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.”