Princess Anne on how Queen handled Princess Diana’s death

Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter Princess Anne weighed in on how Her Majesty handled Princess Diana’s death in an unseen interview from 2017 which was broadcasted on ITV News on Sunday 11 September.

REVELATIONS FROM PRINCESS ROYAL’S UNSEEN INTERVIEW 

Princess Anne said that Queen Elizabeth II did “exactly the right thing” by staying with Prince William and Prince Harry in Balmoral Castle when their mom, Princess Diana died. 

The 72-year-old spoke to ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship about her mother’s 70-year reign. The interview was broadcasted for the first time on Sunday 11 September according to Daily Mail. This follows Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Thursday 8 September.

Queen Elizabeth II faced criticism after she decided to remain at Balmoral Castle in Scotland with her family,  while the outpouring of public grief took place in London – following Princess Diana’s death.

Princess Diana died in a car crash on 31 August 1997 along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. However, the same year of Princess Anne’s interview, Sir Malcolm Ross – former senior courtier revealed that the Queen felt her priority laid with her grandsons in Scotland. So, she was “hurt” at the criticism thrown at her.

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PRINCESS ANNE SAYS QUEEN DID ‘EXACTLY’ THE RIGHT THING

The Princess was chosen by her mother to accompany the funeral cortege on their six-hour journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh. She was driven behind the a royal Bentley with her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.

Princess Anne said that her mother did exactly the right thing by remaining in Scotland at the time. 

“I think my mother did exactly the right thing. I think it’s absolutely extraordinary that any right-minded parent should believe… [there] would have been an alternative to bring those children down here to London in all that hoo-ha,” she said. 

Prince William was then 15 and his brother Prince Harry 12 at the time of their mother’s death.

“I just don’t know how you can think that would’ve been a better thing to do. I don’t think either of those two would’ve been able to cope had they been anywhere else,” she continued.

“That was the only good thing that happened was that they were there, and they had that structure, they had people around them who could understand, give them the time,” she added.

After the Queen’s death, her eldest son Charles became King. In his first address as King, Charles extended an olive branch to his son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. However, this came after the King allegedly told Prince Harry not to bring Meghan to see the dying Queen in Balmoral.

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