Princess Anne: royal expert on untitled Mark Phillips
Anne is said to have given Harry a cold shoulder when he returned to the UK in April for Prince Philip’s funeral, after the Sussexes hit the cabinet in their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. However, the Princess Royal’s youthful choices helped set a precedent for Harry and Meghan when they began to push back the restrictions on living behind the palace walls. Anne wanted to raise her children as private citizens, just like Harry and Meghan, and chose to live away from traditional palaces by purchasing her own Gloucestershire estate, Gatcombe Park.
Likewise, the Sussexes chose to leave the Kensington Palace estate within a year of their marriage and move to a more private home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage.
In his book “Princess Anne: A Biography”, Nicholas Courtney explained how the Princess Royal has repeatedly resisted the trend when it comes to setting up her family life.
Mr Courtney said that “journalists and biographers who visit Gatcombe for the first time are always struck by the informal nature of the place”.
He continued: “That they must use phrases like the most ‘anti-royal of royal households’ presupposes that they attribute them to a life of valets in shorts and powdered wigs, a butler in a jacket and collar and a series of golden designs.
The most ‘non-royal house of Princess Anne of all royal households’ paved the way for Harry and Meghan (Image :.)
Anne reportedly gave Harry the cold shoulder at Philip’s funeral (Image :.)
Gatcombe also made headlines earlier this year after the Princess Royal shared a photo of herself watching rugby at home.
Royal watchers marveled at the warm surroundings, while others went so far as to call it “crowded”.
Meghan and Harry are said to have built their first home together, Nottingham Cottage in the Kensington Estate, as “cozy and chic” as it gets, according to the Finding Freedom biography.
When Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips first laid eyes on their 730-acre home in 1976, they pooled their capital and made up the difference with a mortgage – another marked change from most. members of the royal family.
At the time, Mark said, “We’re just like any other couple with a mortgage.”
READ MORE: Harry’s birthday snub to William before Megxit spotted by royal fans
Princess Anne’s House in Gloucestershire, area of Gatcombe Park (Image:.)
It’s also how far Harry and Meghan have come since leaving the firm.
They bought a sprawling $ 14.65million (£ 11million) mansion in California, in the isolated community of Montecito, but reportedly took out a mortgage of $ 9.5million (£ 6.8million). ) to purchase it for the 7.4 acre property.
Their spokesperson explained: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into their family home in July this year.
“They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family.”
Their new home is 100 miles from LA, where they briefly settled.
Like Anne, Harry would have struggled in the busy city and sought privacy away from the crowds.
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Anne is known to be more informal than some of her relatives (Image:.)
The Sussexes’ home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage, before moving to the United States (Image :.)
According to Mr Courtney, the Princess Royal once admitted that she enjoys spending time alone.
She said: “After being in public for a few days, I want to be alone.”
She added: “It’s nice to leave, not to talk and to be alone; You need it.”
This is what first drew the couple to the Gatcombe Estate – Mark said: “We stood on the front steps and looked at the view; it was quiet, it was secluded, it was peaceful with woods on either side of a long valley.
“I thought – well, whatever’s inside, we can change, over time.
“But that we can never change.
“This is exactly what we were looking for.”
Anne with her first husband Mark Phillips (Image:.)
Harry and Meghan even tried to keep the location of their new home a secret for several months when they first moved out of LA.
Still, Anne has been praised for her unwavering dedication to the crown as the Sussexes have faced an intense backlash since stepping down from royal duties last year.
Anne’s first husband, Mark, also turned down the Queen’s offer of a royal title, preferring to use her army prefixes, while their children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, were raised without any title. .
During their interview with Oprah, Meghan and Harry said they were deeply hurt when it looked like their firstborn Archie was not going to have the title of prince when he was born and therefore would not have security that accompanies it.
There is also a lot of speculation as to whether Prince Charles told the couple that he would change the legislation so that Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie and Lilibet, still do not become prince and princess even when their grandfather. father inherited the throne.
Nicholas Courtney’s “Princess Anne: A Biography” was published in 1986 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson and is available here.
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