Princess Anne’s take on the monarchy under King Charles

[Music]foreignthis is St James's palace in London andmore than just look at it let's goinsidethis is the private sitting room for thePrincess Royal Princess Anne she hasopened up the room and opened up herschedule to do something she rarely doesconduct an interview with us aboutthings she doesn't often talk aboutlosing both her parents within the spanof 18 months the upcoming coronation thefuture of the monarchy and Canada thisis our conversation with Princess Anneso I thank you very much for making timefor us I I know you don't have much ofit at all I mean when I'm in London Itend to sort of packaging when I'm inLondonthere's a reason Princess Anne isreferred to as the hardest working Royal[Applause]in addition to being involved with morethan 300 Charities She carries out moreevents than any other Royaland carries with her that sense ofresponsibility passed on from her motherthe queen on August the 15th 1950 herdaughter was born the little princesswas christened Anne Elizabeth AliceLouisethe second child and only daughter ofthe late Queen Elizabeth and PrincePhilip she had her first RoyalEngagement at the age of 18 and startedworking with save the children shortlyafter she still works with them PrincessAnne this afternoon at the equestrianevents she's an Olympian competed inMontreal in 1976.she's a mother of two and she spent herwhole life under the watchful eyes ofthe world's camerasmost recently in September when thequeen died 72 year old Princess Annewith her mother until the very endfor a woman so often seen she doesn't domany interviewsstill she sat down with us ahead of thecoronation for an exclusive Canadianconversationwe are so close to this this moment herewe are again with history withcoronation forgive me if this is a naivequestion but I'm how on Earth do youprepare for thatgood questionum we've been very luckymy motherwas the queen for a very long timeand although you kind of know that thismight happen you don't really thinkabout it very much not least of allbecause the monarchy is about continuitybut I think formy brother you know this is somethinghe's been waiting forand he's probably spent more timethinking about itfor the rest of us it's more a questionof okay we have to shift the way wesupportand that's that's what we need to do andwhat does that shift look like for youum well that's that's we don't know yetI mean there was a there was an order tothe yearsum because my mother didn't change verymuchand kind of knew what the rhythm of theyear was so that will things like thatwill change and how we are part of thesupport for the monarchy made changeslightly who knows and when you hearsometimes people refer to a slim downmonarchy I I can't imagine what whatthat might mean for a role like yours II don't know how many more hours in theday you have to take more things on wellI think the slim Dan was was said in aday when there were a few more peoplearound to make that seem like ajustifiable right a comment the worldchanges a bit it changes a bit I mean itdoesn't sound like a good idea fromwhere I'm standing I have to say surebecause I'm quite sure what else youknow we can doa few more Royals were indeed on the jobnot that long agotake prince Andrew Prince Harry andMegan off the roster in addition to theloss of the queen and Prince Philip andwhat you'll end up seeing at thecoronation is a decidedly smallercontingentlooking for uh for those of us watchingon during the coronation some of thedetails are are yet to be released butis there a moment no I'm waiting to betold I haven't asked too many questionsSmart in the terms of my role I I have arole as kernel of the Blues and rolls inthe iso Calvary regiment as gold stickand gold stick was the original closedProtection Officer so that is a rolethat I was asked if I'd like to do forthis coronationso I said yes not least of all it I sowas my address problem it certainly doesalso that's an interesting metaphor in away a close Protection Officer that rolefor the king for your brother in termsof carrying forward some of thecontinuity of what you have seen tostand with him oh a little bit I'll bedifferent in in the whole service willbe different in many respectsuh he was just old enough to have goneto my mother's coronationI don't know what his Impressions wereI was not allowed to go probably quiterightly that stage of my careerum it could have been way more troublethan it was worth on the second day ofJune in the year 1953Elizabeth is Led here to be anointedElizabeth II It'll be such a differentscenario and when you look at the Abbeynow when you go to events and you thinkhow did they get that number of peoplein thereand there won't be that many in therethere'sthere is so much in that service whichyou you really have to do I mean that isin fundamentally important and it's themeaning of the coronation in every wayit's not just a big ceremonyitis a very essential part of theresponsibilities of the crimewith a crown oflove I realized you weren't there we'veseen the pictures of that tiny curlyblonde head over the balcony I don'tknow if your memories are formed fromseeing images or if you actually it is aproblem you don't quite know whetheryou're a membrane actual memories orwhether they're so prompted byphotographs that that's what you thinkyou remember rightumso no I don't have many many memoriesI'm apart fromsort of the the group of youngsters whowere left behind I suspect there was anargument about who got the rocking horsebut that's I wonder who won that one heum moment of the day but[Music]we wouldn't be having this conversationhad you not not that long ago it's stillvery fresh lost your mother the queenthis is something everyone in the worldcan understand the private loss here[Music]I think it doesn't matter how old youare when you lose a parent you're stilla child in that moment well therelationship tends to remain if you'relucky remains very similar throughoutyour life doesn't it yeswe havean impression from what we saw becauseof all the cameras[Music]cameras were often so fixed on you sofixed on you as you made that Journeybehind the vehicleis it a blur uh is it acute were youable to to take any of it in uh no Ithink we took a lot of it inpartly because we knew the routeand I did actually spot people I knew onthe wayit was such an impressivesiteand it was more than that because it wasreally touching in the way that peopleresponded and how they did thingsand you know the people brought theirponies and horses out but they not onlybrought them out they'd platted themthey were properly addressed it wellturned out they brought their tractorsout and they parked them you knowtidally they're all clean and if youcome from a rural background I wasreally impressed you know it was just anastonishing sight but the sheer numbersof people turned up in quiteextraordinary placesokayyou were never going to miss miss thatand the atmosphere that it createdleaving Balmoral is never easy but thenit never has been and that was just asbad when I was living as a child whatwhy didn't like leavingyou were happy there yeahand and your mother the queen wasobviously very happy therewas it's very much a place which I thinkalways fitted in that time of the yearthere was a real relaxationrelaxation rarely a concept associatedwith the late queen or the 72 year oldPrincess Anne for a few years runningshe's officially been declared thehardest working Royal214 appearances last year aloneit's been fascinating from ourperspective to to get a glimpse intoyour schedule trying to navigate a placefor this and it it genuinely seemsprogram sometimes to the minute and isis that is thatby Design is that duty is that desireoh it's a mixture I think it's certainlyby Designuh because it's really the only way toorganize your life so covid must havebeen a terrible block for that kind ofwork a block certainly from well fromeverybody's perspective but it wasintriguing to note how people there wasthe word they kept using here pivotedso they pivoted using either thestrengths of what they did before todeliver it slightly differently wesometimes at home talk about covert as athief in that store from a lot of peopledid it did it steal from youum in some respectsumI suppose I I tend to think it it stolea bit from my fatherwho you know lost a lot of the peoplewho would have goneto see him and talk to him and you knowhave those conversations that kept himinterested and he lost he lost all ofthat[Music]I'm sure there are lots of families thatwill tell you the same thing that forthe older generation losing thosecontacts those the ability to you knowonline didn't do it for everybody I meanI'm sorry to bring it up but I think ofthat that image of of your mother theQueen by herself yesthat was a thief yeah yeah you're quiteright and then in some ways I'm glad wedidn't see that at that moment and thenwhen you see the photograph it's muchworse from heryeahand you saw more of that than we didaccompanying the coffinit was the covid restrictions thatimposed that solitary grief on the queenin April of 2021 at the funeral of herhusband of seven decades Prince Philip[Music]his death seemed to begin a chain ofmomentous Royal events all within 18months some wrenching lows for thefamilybut also a moment unlike any other inBritish history the Queen's PlatinumJubilee[Music]the feeling was extraordinary it wasloud it was raucousbut in the crowd you kept hearing peoplesaying thank you man thank you yes and II wondered thendid your mother the queen know that theywere saying thank you did she did shefeel that gratitudeum I suspect she would have she wouldhave noticed did she have funyes I think it's quite a long weekendfor that yeah to be done as fun but Ithink when she came at the end I thinkshe realized that everybody hadappreciated it that really made adifferencebut that as it were was thenthis almost seems like another era it'sa moment when feelings about themonarchy are hardening and don't thinkthe members of the royal family don'tnoticewhen we come back are thereconversations about relevance there willbe everywhere it's not a conversationthat I would necessarily have I thinkit's in it perfectly true that it it isa moment where you need to have thatdiscussionin the fairy tale story of kings andprincesses there are facts hard onesincluding the reality that the globalrelationship with the British royalfamily is frankly shiftingthere are countries all over this planetthat want to sever their ties with theBritish royal family they do not wantthe Monarch as head of state this is notsomething the royal family is oblivioustothere is a growing movement in the UKand Canada protesting the place of theBritish Monarchyholes in both countries suggest youngpeople in particular are cooling sixtypercent of Canadians regardless of theirage suggesting they don't supportCharles as kingbecause we're in this moment oftransition I think it's it's notunnatural that people are havingconversations about the monarchy and theplace of the monarchy uh in in variouscountries Canada included and some ofthe recent polling is is suggesting thatthere is a drop in in the percentage ofpeople who would like to see themonarchy continue how do you how do youdeal with that as a familywell we don'tum in many respects need to deal with itand not least of all becauseum it is the monarch that is the key tothis and the Constitutionum that underpins the monarchywe as a family see ourselves theirs isto support that role what we do we hopecontributes to the monarchy and the wayin whichit canconvey continuityof not just interest but of service ofunderstanding the way that people incommunities want to live their lives andI think so often we get the chance tosee communities and the people who dothings really welland are very generous with their timein a way thatif you look at the media you tend not toget that impression are thereconversations about relevance there willbe everywhere it's not a conversationthat I would necessarily have I thinkit's in it perfectly true that it it isa moment where you need to have thatdiscussionbut I would just underline the that themonarchy provides with the Constitutiona degree of long termstability that it's actually quite hardto come by any other wayand and when we think about thisthis duty this rolethat the King has taken on what kind ofKing do you think he'll bewell you know you're getting becausehe's been practicing for a bitand I don't think he'll change you knowhe is committed to his his own level ofservice that will remain true his RoyalHighness the Prince of Wales tangiblythough what will he do what steps willbe taken I want to acknowledge that theroots of our contemporary Associationrun deep into the most painful period ofour historyI cannot describe the depths of mypersonal sorrow are the suffering of somanyas I continue to deepen my ownunderstanding of slavery's enduringimpactthere are some indications he isconscious of the wrongs and ways royalfamily haven't seemed to express beforethe king making a move after weeks ofsearing coverage in the UK about themonarchy's ties to slavery hardly a newsubject but the response from the palacewas newBuckingham Palace says it's cooperatingwith an independent study into the linksbetween the British Monarchy and theslave trade in the 17th and 18 centurieshe did something interesting not longago offering tacit support to theresearch into the ties of Slavery to themonarchy he just opened he saidabsolutely have a look well you knowmore than I do because I rather suspectthat is the media's interpretation ofthat particular deal what's yours whocame up with that ideado is there a different sense do youhave it's not really a subjectconversation that I would even go downum a historical perspective which isslightly differentum maybe more realistic and witches nothe historical perspective it just goesback a lot furtherand the modern contexts are verydifferentslavery hasn't gone awayno come ondon't be too focused ontime scales and periods history isn'tlike thatrecognizing the British monarchy's placein colonization in slavery will be onething for the institution but acting onit finding A New Path forward that wouldtake generations of workwhen we come back the ultimate Insider'sview of the state of the monarchyyou don't sound worried about the healthor the longevity of the monarchyIthink nobody was into my mouth as theysay[Music]for an institution and family so steepedin Tradition change is coming regardlessof whether they want it the mood in theUK seems more cautious than celebratoryand then there's Canada the ties of theroyal family are very strong PrincessAnne has visited the country more than20 times she is on her way back againwhat keeps her coming back what are herthoughts about the future relationshipbetween Canada and Crowna swing through the cbc's archivesunearths a treasure Trove of Royalfootage so many trips over the decadesand it appears that so much effort wentinto making those trips feel informalhave a look at this Yellowknife barbecuein 1970.the thick crowds should just watch hereat a hamburgerthe opportunity to meet many Canadiansand that is what has been such apleasure my links to this land and itspeople run deepPrincess Anne appears seeminglyeverywhere in the North in big citiesand most notably as an Olympian theMontreal Olympics in 1976Princess Anne this afternoon at theequestrian events and the goal is Anne'sambitionevery athlete that I've ever spoken withat the Olympics always says that for allthe training they dofor everything they know that's about tohappen the Olympics experience changesthem that's probably trueum but it's a different competitionbecauseso often with your own nationalchampionships or anything else you're inand out you know you come in you do yourcompetition and you leaveyou go to the Olympics there's more timeon your hands and it's quite a differentdiscipline for some people and not allof them cope with their training regimein the same way when they've got thatkind of time available so yeah it doeschange you a bit because you've you haveto be able to adapt to be able to Coop Ithinkrain overnight in Montreal very slipperyout therethere it is that's the fallyour injury or your fall in Montreal doyou do you remember much of it I meanyou really don't well I don't I don'tremember barely remember starting Icertainly don't remember finishing soum and I don't remember the fall andhave oddly enough until I saw the videoafterwards that was which was reallyquite interesting must have been verystrange to see it not having rememberedit it was quite strangeum I think the horse did a very good jobin staying uprightum because he although he fell he didn'troll over which would have been muchmore painfulbut there was a fence after I got backon again where he put his foot downbetweenum the takeoff and the and the fenceitself and I thought that could havebeen much nastierbut no I don't rememberbut she's a Plucky one and she's back upagainthat memory may not exist but there areother trips to draw from Decades ofhandshakes and cookouts and endlessphotographsand soon she'll be back for her firsttrip to Canada since covid hit a shortone to honor a long connection with theeighth Canadian hussars she became theircolonel in Chief in 1972 has stood bythem ever since she'll be back in NewBrunswick for their 175th anniversary inMay and aside from from this anniversarywhy this trip why right now well whythis trip is it's 175th anniversarywhich is no mean achievement andalthough it isn't a regular regimentanymore all of that history is stillthere and it reflects an awful lot ofthe local community and it's stillimportant that they support it as wellbecause that is a skill setum a service ethoswhich you really didn't want to losevery it you know it's always going to beneeded is there any time in the schedulefor anything approximating restnot on this one nonot on this oneum and mine actually I havegrandchildren who go to New Brunswick onholidays they know the beachesum they because they're really goodbeaches but no this time of year is toodifficult reallyshe is sometimes asked if she willretire anytime soon that seems entirelyout of the question for Princess Anneshe remains determined to serve anddetermine that serving matters themonarchy mattersas people gather for the coronationis there something you you'd like themto hold as they as they watch what'shappening something you'd like them toto think of you yes I mean I think thereis that historical perspectiveum and it it's important now I thinkbecause so much of what we've seen hereis very much in the now and maybeFashions you know they have their placebut long-term commitment has a lot goingfor it you don't sound worried about thehealth or the longevity of the monarchyum I think you're putting words into mymouth as they say are you thenwould you say that you are you aren'tthough I mean I am no I wouldn'tI mean I just I because I believe thatthere is a genuine benefit from thisparticular arrangementum the constitutional monarchy and Ithink it has good long-term benefits andthat commitment to long term is what themonarchy stands for Johannes thank youso much for your time well genuinelycomplicated[Music]