Rebellious Princess Anne Was Queen Elizabeth's Closest Companion Until The End

Sep 16, 2022 by apost team

The late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's only daughter, Princess Anne, has led a relatively quiet and more private life than many of her nieces and nephews. But while she tends to stay out of the spotlight, Anne is reported to be one of the busiest working senior members of the royal family. 

For such a seemingly traditional family, the royal family has had some drastic changes in recent years. After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their royal departure in March 2020, many pieces were left out of place as the family worked at figuring out how to move forward. Following that, Anne took on more responsibilities, and she remained a stable, if quiet, figure in the royal family since.

Another big change hit the royal family when Queen Elizabeth passed away peacefully on Sept. 8, 2022, at Balmoral. She was surrounded by family and loved ones, however, not all of her children were able to make it to be by her side in time. But Anne, her only daughter, was with her all along. In fact, she was the one to sound the family alarm, reported the Mirror.

Ever since her dear mother's passing, Anne has dutifully played the role of the loyal daughter, still by her side even in death. As she undertook the journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh to travel alongside her mother's coffin, Anne's stoic and grief-stricken face was a sign of how much she truly loved her mother, the late queen.

Anne, a rebel in her youth, has spoken about the many unusual and non-traditional moments in her lifetime. Although she remains under the radar these days in comparison to other royals, Anne's adventurous side is perhaps what most closely ties her to her late mother. Let's take a look at how Anne supported her mother all the way to the end.

As well as sounding the alarm to her siblings that their mother was in her final stages, the Mirror reported that Anne, Princess Royal was believed to have been selected by Queen Elizabeth herself "to be her companion for this final journey," from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Upon arriving, Anne gave a curtsy to her mother's coffin and was comforted by a hand on the back from another of the queen's favorite senior family members, Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

Penny Junor, a royal biographer, spoke of Anne to the Mirror:

“She has never been the show pony, she is not there to promote herself. What she demonstrates is the monarchy is not about glamour or being a glitzy celebrity. She is like her mother in that she has dedicated herself to her role.”

It's perhaps unsurprising that the daughter of Elizabeth, who was herself a strong, independent woman that took her job as a servant to the United Kingdom and Commonwealth very seriously, would forge her own role as one of the hardest-working royals. 

Known to be Prince Philip's favorite, Anne's sporting prowess led her to be the first royal family member to compete in the Olympics in equestrian in 1976. Her tendency to be direct, however, earned her the nickname "Her Royal Rudeness." 

Nevertheless, Anne was a stable force in the royal family so it's no surprise her mother came to depend on her. During the pandemic, Anne was the one to help the late queen with her first Zoom meeting. Their closeness was obvious when technical problems led the queen to only see four faces onscreen instead of six, before Anne joked, "you don't need me, you know what I look like."

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When it came to her life, Anne was very influenced by her impressive mother. When Anne became a mother herself, Elizabeth was said to have admired her daughter's choice not to grant her kids, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, royal titles. Anne's modest approach to her royal duties was also modeled after her mother's. She once said, "It was about listening, and it was about learning."

Junor commented on Anne's no-nonsense approach to her royal work after she accompanied the royal on an official tour of Uzbekistan in July 1993. The trip took place at the same time as Princess Diana's trip to Africa and their different modes of interacting with locals couldn't have been more different. Diana was known to be very close to others including children, who she'd hug upon meeting. While that earned her a reputation as a very warm royal member, Anne conversely kept her physical distance. Junor explained Anne's way of meeting others:

“Her explanation would be, ‘What child wants a complete stranger to hug them?’ And, ‘I’m much more useful finding out from the doctor what problems she faces before I go and meet the President and voice those concerns.'"

There's no denying Anne has been a loyal and dedicated royal family member her whole life. She even played the role of her late mother's closest companion to the end, while her older brother King Charles III took the spotlight. Junor added:

“She does not want the glory for herself and she does not want to be on the front pages.” 

There’s no doubt that the late queen must have been very proud of the woman her only daughter became in her lifetime.

Did you know about Princess Anne's selfless and loyal approach to her royal work? What about her special bond with her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II? If you enjoyed reading this then pass it on so other royal fans can check it out too.