Princess Anne says slimmed down monarchy ‘is not a good idea’

The Princess Royal has said she believes a slimmed down monarchy is “not a good idea”.

In a rare interview, she told Canadian news network CBC News the idea of paring back the institution was originally proposed “when there were a few more people around”.

“It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. I’m not quite sure what else we can do,” she said in the interview at St James’s Palace in London.

There have been reports that the King, who will be crowned on Saturday, plans to reduce the number of working royals and the size of his staff in order to cut the cost of the monarchy.

Asked about questions surrounding the relevance of the monarchy today, the Princess Royal, 72, said: “It’s not a conversation that I would necessarily have. I think it’s perfectly true that it is a moment when you need to have that discussion.”

She added that the monarchy gives a degree of stability that is “quite hard to come by any other way”.

The Princess, 72, also believes her brother will not be changed by his new role as King, and that his commitment to public service would “remain true” after his Coronation.

“You know what you’re getting because he’s been practising for a bit, and I don’t think he’ll change.

“You know, he is committed to his own level of service, and that will remain true,” she told the BBC’s partner broadcaster in Canada.

She added that the King’s reign would bring a “shift” in how the rest of the Royal family supports the monarch.

“My mother was the Queen for a very long time. And although you kind of know that this might happen, you don’t really think about it very much — not least of all because the monarchy is about continuity,” she said.

“For the rest of us, it’s more a question of, OK, we have to shift the way we support. And that’s what we need to do.”

The Princess will travel on horseback on Coronation Day behind the King and Queen, as the Gold-Stick-in-Waiting.

The Gold-Stick-in-Waiting was formerly tasked with protecting the monarch as the original “close protection officer”, but it is now a ceremonial role.

And the Princess joked that she was happy to accept the role, partly because it solves the issue of what she will wear on Coronation Day.

“So I said yes, not least of all it solves my dress problem,” she said.