‘STOP THIS NONSENSE NOW!’
Could the King’s straight-talking sister heal the family rift once and for all?
Everyone laughed when Princess Anne’s feathered hat obscured her nephew Prince Harry’s view at the King’s coronation, but what most missed was the pair’s warm exchange when she arrived and joked about him sitting in the third row.
While the rest of the senior royals barely glanced in Harry’s direction, Anne made a point of stopping to ask him if he was OK with his seating position, to which he laughingly replied, “I don’t mind,” before instructing her to “sit at the front”!
Onlookers might have been surprised by the warm exchange, but palace insiders say the ability not to hold grudges is one of the Princess Royal’s most endearing qualities – and it’s why, ahead of Harry’s flying visit to the UK this week, Charles, 74, has deployed Anne, 72, to play peacemaker between his warring sons Harry, 38, and Prince William, 40.
“Anne has a soft spot for Harry because they share a similar sense of humour – or certainly did – and she can identify with him being the spare, not the heir,” royal expert Phil Dampier tells Woman’s Day.
“After all, Anne has played second fiddle for 70 years to Charles and Prince Andrew, even though she has always been the hardest-working royal.”
With Harry due to return to the High Court in London as part of his ongoing case with the Mirror Group over phone-hacking allegations, it’s the perfect opportunity for Anne to have a quiet word with her nephew and tell him exactly what she thinks of all the “feuding nonsense”.
“If King Charles asks her, I’m sure she would act as a go-between in any meaningful family attempts to heal the rift,” says Phil. “Anne also knows better than most that royals are humans with weaknesses and problems like the rest of us. Her own marriage failed, she had an affair with one of her detectives and her son Peter Phillips’ marriage ended in divorce, so she doesn’t tend to lecture or moralise at others.”
Tellingly, Anne is one of the only members of the royal family who wasn’t attacked in Harry’s blistering biography, which cruelly targeted his brother William and sister-in-law Kate, as well as sharing details of his father’s relationship with his stepmother Queen Camilla.
The biggest roadblock will be Wills, says a royal insider. “William is the one who is most upset. He can’t move beyond Harry’s cruel portrayal of him as hot
‘Anne is very practical... She will try to solve problems’
headed and unsympathetic.”
Phil adds, “Anne won’t be happy about Harry writing Spare and doing his Netflix series – she doesn’t believe in washing dirty linen in public – but she will have forgiven him and tried to understand his motives.
“She is very practical and pragmatic, like her father Prince Philip, and she will try to solve problems, so I can see her as a potential peacemaker. I don’t think she is an admirer of his wife Meghan and she probably feels Harry would still be a royal if it weren’t for her. But she also recognises the terrible scars Harry bears because of what happened to Diana.”
Undoubtedly, one of Anne’s biggest motivations for reuniting the brothers will be to honour her late mother’s legacy.
“If she can help, she will bring the brothers back together,” says Phil. “But it will be behind the scenes, away from the public gaze.”
Aglamorous new member of the royal family is starting to make a name for herself, even though you’d be forgiven for having never heard of her!
With her honey-blonde hair and dazzling smile, Zara Tindall’s secret half-sister Stephanie Phillips could be mistaken for her twin, despite being 17 years her junior.
Last week, Stephanie, 25, made headlines when photos emerged of her luxury lifestyle, exotic holidays and love of horses – and insiders say it’s just the beginning of the British-born agricultural graduate’s plan to step into the spotlight.
“Stephanie’s spent her life in the background, enjoying a childhood where no one really knew about her existence, but now she’s emerging as a keen sportswoman, she wants to boost her profile and is on a mission to do whatever it takes to get her name out there,” a close source tells Woman’s Day.
“She’s planning to use her royal connections to propel her career and public profile.”
The daughter of Princess Anne’s first husband Captain Mark Phillips and his Hawaiian-born second wife Sandy Pflueger, Stephanie grew up alongside Zara, 42, and her brother Peter, 45, on Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate, where Mark, 74, continued to live after he and Anne divorced in 1992.
Just like her parents and Zara, Stephanie is an event rider who competes at horse trials around the world, although arguably not as successfully as her half-sister.
And while Zara is nothing but supportive of her sibling, there are some concerns about her desire to pursue fame.
“Everyone was surprised to learn that she’s already had several meetings with two of London’s biggest PR firms, as well as signing with a top talent management agency that represents stars who have already secured plenty of inches in gossip columns,” a royal source spills.
It’s little wonder then that Anne feels nervous about what Stephanie could reveal. “Anne’s asked Zara to investigate and find out exactly what Stephanie’s planning, since they’re extremely close and she’s someone Stephanie trusts implicitly,” says our insider. “She’s not taking any chances – the family has seen enough drama!”
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