Charles III has just been proclaimed King of England after the recent passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Aside from the throne, he's also inheriting the late monarch's entire fortune.
Now, some fans of the Netflix hit series, The Crown can't help but wonder if this affects the king's dynamic with his sister, Princess Anne. In the show, Charles' character referred to his siblings as "fringe" royals, claiming that his son Prince William has more claim to the throne than them.
Here's what their relationship's really like.
King Charles III And Princess Anne Have Always Been Close Since They Were Kids
King Charles III, 73, and Princess Anne, 71 were just toddlers when their mother was crowned Queen of England. As a result, they spent a lot of time with each other growing up despite their different personalities. Former royal nanny Mabel Anderson once described the newly crowned king as "never as boisterous or noisy as Princess Anne" who had a "much stronger, more extrovert personality"
Anderson added: "She didn't exactly push him aside, but she was certainly a more forceful child."
Biographer Nicholas Courtney said the same thing about the Princess Royal. "She has been cited as being thoughtless compared to her brother; for example, it was the well-mannered Charles who took her by the hand to thank the engine-driver who drove them to Sandringham," he explained, adding that the two fought like any other siblings.
"There are quarrels in every family, Princess Anne even admitting in retrospect that she and her brother 'fought like cats and dogs,'" he revealed. "Such discord can not have been as bad she remembers it, as they spent all their time together, at least when Charles was not in the schoolroom."
King Charles And Princess Anne's Current Relationship
Charles and Anne generally get along just fine. According to royal insiders, the two are actually "closer than ever" after the passing of their mother. "They are known to revel in each other's company, sharing the same sense of humour, love of the countryside and affection for all things Scottish," the Daily Mail recently reported. "Yet, in adulthood, Anne has also respected their different roles and her elder brother's constitutional destiny."
The outlet added: "The fact that Charles and his sister were the only siblings present meant they could briefly mourn privately together, further strengthening their unique relationship." Now, the King might bestow a new title to his sister who became the seventh Princess Royal in 1987. But surely, many believe that she won't be cut off from the working royals Charles is planning to reduce to streamline the monarchy's expenses.
Anne is one of the hardest-working members of the Royal Family. She accomplished 387 engagements in the past year which is two more than Charles. As a patron of over 300 charities and organizations, she's had a total of 20,000 official engagements in her lifetime. With Queen Elizabeth II's 600-plus patronages automatically handed over to the king, many think that he'll likely allocate some of them to his sister.
Princess Anne's Role In King Charles III's Reign
Speaking to the Express, body language expert Judi James said that Princess Anne would be a great support system for King Charles during his reign.
"Will Anne be as instrumental in keeping Charles grounded and loyally supported during his time on the throne as Philip did during the Queen's reign?" she said. "Their body language suggests enough personality contrasts for them to have never been natural friends. But Anne's straight-talking, stoic approach could be the perfect complement to her more inwardly-focused often self-pitying older brother."
She continued: "They grew up as a close unit of two as the Queen’s other sons weren't born until Anne and Charles were well out of childhood. They must have both watched as their mother doted on Andrew and Edward and although there were signs that Anne was happy to join in this new family dynamic, Charles often looked more like a melancholy outsider." James also noted that growing up, Charles had always been the "protective" big brother to Anne.
"Anne always looked more confident and spontaneous than Charles, but photos of them together as small children show Charles using body language that suggests he was both attentive to and rather 'big brother' protective of Anne," she said.
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