A Message for the Younger Royals

Anne, who will turn 75 on Friday, August 15, has also shared her thoughts on how the younger royals approach their roles.

In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, she cautioned against efforts to redefine or modernise the monarchy, saying that those ideas had already been tested. Her warning was simple: “not reinvent that wheel.”

“I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past, and it’s often true, isn’t it?” she explained. “You don’t necessarily look at the previous generations and say, ‘Oh, you did that? Or, you went there?’”

Commenting on how royals such as Prince William and Prince Harry often look for new approaches, Anne expressed doubt about their value: “And I’m already at the stage, ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel.’ We’ve been there, done that, some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.”

Who Was She Referring To?

Anne never mentioned any names in her remarks to Vanity Fair. However, her words sparked speculation that she may have been hinting at Prince William’s support for a streamlined monarchy—an idea he shares with his father, King Charles.

Her comments also came shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step away from their senior royal roles and move to the United States.