Princess Anne may have a ‘soft spot’ for Prince Harry but she is ‘absolutely furious’ with him for upsetting the late Queen in her final years claims expert

“She says what she thinks she doesn't pretend anything”

Princess Anne and Prince Harry
(Image credit: Chris Jackson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

An expert who has seen Princess Anne and Prince Harry's recent exchanges has claimed that the Princess has a ‘soft spot’ for Harry but is still ‘absolutely furious’ with him for upsetting the late Queen in her final years.


Prince Harry's long awaited reunion with most of the immediate and extended Royal Family during last month's Coronation celebrations was a tad underwhelming. The royal was only in the UK for 28 hours and reportedly didn't have any contact with his brother Prince William despite many royal fans and experts holding out hope that the event could see the pair reconcile. 

But while the Royal Family reportedly had 'no interest' in talking to Prince Harry at the Coronation, there was one royal who surprised everyone when they were spotted chatting and sharing a 'good-humored exchange' with the Prince. 

Speaking to OK! Magazine about Anne and Harry's surprising exchange at last month's Coronation celebrations, the BBC's former royal correspondent Jennie Bond shared, "The Coronation was a very public event and Harry was there where she was going to be sitting right in front of him with that red plume in her hat that was going to obscure his view.

"It was entirely natural to stop and chat with her nephew with whom, I think, she got on pretty well over the years rather than cause some kind of public scene. It was better to be amiable, but I am quite sure that deep down Anne has been absolutely furious with Harry for upsetting her mother, his grandmother, so much in her last years.”

Princess Anne and Prince Harry

(Image credit: Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

She added, "And for all the allegations he's made, I'm sure she'll be very unhappy with them, but this was neither the time nor place to to discuss all that, so I mean she I mean, they look very relaxed together. She would have just put things on one side a little bit, but I’m sure she is angry at the damage he’s done to the royal reputation, because she works so hard. 

"I don’t know how strong the relationship between [them] is, but Anne works so damned hard, so hard for the constitutional monarchy, and anything that damages it would make her very angry.”

Anne's hard-working and no-nonsense approach to royal life, the expert believes, is something that Anne has inherited from her late mother, The Queen. She explained, “Princess Anne is a very straight down the line and blunt sort of person.

"She says what she thinks; she doesn’t pretend anything. She is probably like her late mother, as Queen Elizabeth could always compartmentalize everything she was told. So when the family was imploding but she had a job to do, she could just put that on one side and get on with the job in hand. And I think Anne’s probably a little bit like that.”

Princess Anne and Prince Harry

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The approach to royal life clearly works for the Princess Royal. Year after year she is named the hardest working member of the royal family, though this year Prince William was named as the royal who travels the most for work.

Despite her jam-packed schedule that saw her carry out an impressive 214 royal engagements just last year alone, according to The Daily Express, Anne is also finding time to bring the Royal Family back together and 'could perhaps help plaster' Prince Harry and his brother Prince William's 'wounded relationship' by bonding with her nephew over them both being 'spares.'

The outlet isn't the only publication taking the stance. According to a source who spoke to The Mail on Sunday, "The Princess Royal has always had a soft spot for Harry, and they both have a wicked sense of humor. People talk about Prince Andrew being the spare, but Anne was the second born, too, and particularly since Diana died has always felt a duty to support her nephew.”

One of Harry's friends also told The Times, “He [Harry] really ought to talk to Princess Anne. She often talked about how, as children, she was treated so differently to Charles. She was second to him and kicked further down the royal line of succession as a woman, but she forged her own path. In her twenties, she was bolshy and upset about a lot of things, but she came through that. He should talk to her about her experiences. She is shrewd. She could tell him a lot about what she went through.”

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse
Freelance news writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a freelance royal news, entertainment and fashion writer. She began her journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with Good To, BBC Good Food, The Independent, The Big Issue and The Metro.