Her famous work ethic, which she has maintained over many decades of unwavering royal duty and support for charity, has won Princess Anne acclaim all over the world.
Now, however, it seems the King’s only sister has earned admiration from an unlikely quarter: the royal family’s biggest critic, her cousin Prince Harry.
Eagle-eyed regal spectators tuning in to the coronation may have been surprised by the warmth of the meeting between Harry and his aunt at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Dressed in her Blues and Royals uniform under the dark green thistle cloak, the royal princess stopped to talk to Harry as she made her way to the front of the abbey.
Princess Anne, with her back to the camera, was one of the few senior Royals to speak to Prince Harry in the middle during his father’s coronation. To Harry’s right sits Jack Brooksbank, husband of Princess Eugenie. Zara Phillips, directly behind, looks intrigued
Princess and Anne and her nephew Harry have a genuine rapport, as this display of warmth shows. Lip readers suggest Harry told his aunt he was happy to sit a few rows behind other senior members of the royal family
The Princess Royal and Prince Harry seem to share a sense of humour! They are seen here at Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston’s wedding in May 2019
Princess Anne’s feather was the subject of much comment, as it appeared to block her cousin’s view of the coronation. But the prince seemed unconcerned
While most senior royals ignored the prince resigning his duties to move abroad, Anne Harry – who remains fifth in line to the throne – seemed to ask if he was okay with his seat three rows back. Could he see beyond her high, feathered hat?
In what appeared to be a good-humoured conversation, lip-reading experts reportedly revealed that he said to her, “I don’t mind” before saying “Sit in the front!”
If viewers watching at home were surprised by the candid and conversational conversation, it seemed, some of the Royals sat in the pews behind it.
But one of Princess Anne’s most endearing qualities – aside from her well-deserved title of “hardest-working royal” – is her ability to keep going.
It’s a ‘keep calm and carry on mantra’ inherited from her parents. It also means she doesn’t waste energy on resentment.
A view that, according to some, Harry could well imitate.
Many may not realize that Anne seemed to have a soft spot for Prince Harry from the start, especially when he lost his mother at such a young age.
Princess Anne has had a soft spot for Harry from the start – seen here after Trooping the Color on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
Princess and Diana, the late Princess of Wales, accompany Harry to St George’s Chapel, Windsor for Lady Helen Windsor’s wedding to Tim Taylor in 1992
Anne and Harry feel comfortable in each other’s company and share a relationship of trust on the palace balcony after Trooping the Color in 2006
And while her refusal to give her children royal titles seems at odds with Harry and Meghan’s insistence that their two children Archie and Lilibet be titled Prince and Princess, Anne and Harry have more in common than many people may realize.
She was one of the few members of the royal family not targeted by Prince Harry’s excoriating arrest.
An insider said: ‘The Princess Royal has always had a soft spot for Harry and they both have a great sense of humour. People talk about Prince Andrew as a reserve, but Anne was also the second born, and especially since Diana died, she has always felt an obligation to support her nephew. Both Anne and Harry have a great sense of humor and have more in common than meets the eye.’
A particularly memorable moment between the couple was in May 2008 – 15 years ago – when Princess Anne presented the War Campaign Medals in Afghanistan to officers and soldiers of the Household Cavalry Regiment, including Lieutenant Wales, as Harry was then.
Could Anne be called upon by king and country to build a bridge between father and son?
As with most acts of service – at least as far as the Princess Royal is concerned – she will be obligated when duty calls.
A proud aunt, the Princess Royal, presents her cousin Lieutenant Wales with an Afghan war campaign medal, along with other officers and soldiers of the Household Cavalry
Anne, her husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence and Harry in animated conversation before the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics
A relaxed conversation between Harry and Anne as they head to the thanksgiving service for the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in 2012
Prince Harry, Princess Anne and Mike Tindall, her son-in-law, burst into what appears to be helpless laughter as they attend the Patron’s Lunch, a special street party outside Buckingham Palace to mark the late Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016