Princess Anne has given a very rare personal interview ahead of her brother King Charles's coronation.
The Princess Royal sat down with Canadian TV channel, CBC News, in which she spoke about the future of the royal family.
Anne was directly asked about the idea of a slimmed-down monarchy - something Charles is known to be in favour of.
And she admitted she doesn't think it's a good idea.
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In recent years, the royal family has shifted towards a more streamlined operation, focusing on those at the top of the line of succession.
Asked to share her thoughts on the matter, Anne 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.”
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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.”
Anne was further questioned as to whether there are “conversations about relevance”, and she replied: “There will be, everywhere. It’s not a conversation that I would necessarily have.
© Mark Cuthbert“I think it’s perfectly true that it is a moment where you need to have that discussion.
“But I would just underline that the monarchy provides, with the constitution, a degree of long-term stability that is actually quite hard to come by any other way.”
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The Princess was also asked how the royal family deals with polls suggesting a drop in the percentage of people who want to see the monarchy continue.
“Well, we don’t in many respects need to deal with it, not least of all because it is the monarch that is the key to this, and the constitution that underpins the monarchy,” she said.
© Photo: Getty Images“We as a family see ourselves there to support that role. What we do, we hope, contributes to the monarchy and the way in which it can convey continuity, of not just interest, but of service, of understanding, the way that people in communities want to live their lives.
“And I think so often we get the chance to see communities and the people who do things really well and are very generous with their time in a way that, if you look at the media, you tend not to get that impression,” she concluded.
Anne was also asked what kind of King her brother will be. “Well, you know what you’re getting, because he’s been practising for a bit, and I don’t think he’ll change,” she shared.
“He is committed to his own level of service. That will remain true.”
© Photo: Getty ImagesLater in the interview, Anne reflected on the death of her mother, the Queen.
Speaking about the days travelling the country during the mourning period, she said: "I think we took a lot of it in, partly because we knew the route and I did actually spot people I knew on the way.
"It was such an impressive sight and it was more than that because it was really touching in the way that people responded and how they did things.
© Photo: Getty Images"People brought their ponies and horses out, but they not only brought them out, they plaited them, they were properly dressed and well turned out. They brought their tractors out, and they parked them tidily, they were all clean.
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"If you come from a rural background I was really impressed, it was just an astonishing sight. But the sheer numbers of people who turned up in quite extraordinary places.
© Photo: Getty Images"You're never going to miss that and the atmosphere it created.
"Leaving Balmoral was never easy, but then it never has been. I was just as bad when I was leaving as a child, because I didn't like leaving, [I was happy there]."
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