PRINCESS Anne thinks Queen Elizabeth was robbed of the chance to properly grieve for Prince Philip when she was forced to sit alone at his funeral due to coronavirus restrictions.
The based 72-year-old royal lost her father when he died at the age of 99 in 2021 and her mother – who passed away aged 96 in September – was forced to sit by herself at his funeral due to social distancing guidelines that were in place at the time and Anne acknowledged that the sudden switch to an online existence “didn’t work” for everybody.
Asked by interviewer Adrienne Arsenault on CBC News in Canada if she thought the moment could be described as “thievery”, Anne said: “Yes, you’re quite right. In some ways I’m glad we didn’t see that, at that moment.
“When you see the photograph it’s much worse somehow. Covid stole from my father, who lost a lot of the people who would have gone to see him and come and talk to him and have those conversations that would have kept him interested. He lost all of that. I’m sure that there are lots of families who will tell you the same thing. For the older generation, losing those contacts – online didn’t do that for everybody.”
The Princess Royal added the notion the monarchy could be “slimmed down” following the coronation of her brother King Charles on Saturday is not easy to imagine and doesn’t “seem like a good” idea from what she can see.
She said: “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.
“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.”
