Princess Anne opens up on Prince Philip's death emotionally recalling how Covid stole precious last moments from her father

Princess Anne opened up about her father, the Duke of Edinburgh's death, and how the pandemic restrictions stole from him in his final years.

• In a rare interview, Princess Anne spoke about the pandemic and how it affected her family.
• The Princess Royal also opened up about the upcoming coronation and the future of the Royal Family.
• In other royal news, Duchess Sophie’s emerald green dress and go-to belt show a flair for 50s style as she gets into the coronation spirit.

In April 2021, it was announced that Prince Philip had died aged 99 at Windsor Castle. The official statement from Buckingham Palace said, "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle."

This was a devastating announcement for the Royal Family and particularly his wife of seven decades, Her Majesty the Queen. 

Although he passed more than two years ago, the Princess Royal has just recently opened up about the impact that the pandemic had on the Duke's life, in particularly the last few years of his life when restrictions were in place. 

In an interview with CBC News, the reporter said, "We sometimes, at home, talk about covid as a thief, in that it stole from a lot of people. Did it steal from you?"

The Princess Royal answered diplomatically and revealed that she felt that it stole from her father, who would have benefited from being around more people in the last years of his life.

"Um, in some respects, I suppose I tend to think it stole a bit from my father who, you know, lost a lot of the people who would have gone to see him and talk to him and, you know,  have those conversations that kept him interested. And he lost all of that," she said.

The Princess then added that she was certain that many other families faced the exact same thing. "I'm sure there are lots of families that will tell you the same thing, that for the older generation, losing those contacts, the ability to... online just didn't do it for everybody," she said.

The reporter then brought up the devastating image of the Queen sitting alone at Prince Philip's funeral because covid restrictions meant she couldn't sit close to her relatives. 

"In some ways, I'm glad we didn't see that at that moment and then when you see the photograph it's much worse somehow. And you saw more of that than we did accompanying the coffin," she said sadly.

In another part of the interview, Princess Anne slammed the idea of a 'slimmed down' monarchy as she said, "I think the 'slimmed-down' was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment," she laughed and then added, "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."