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The late Queen‘s only daughter, Princess Anne was chosen by her mother to accompany the funeral cortege on the journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh. The Princess Royal will also accompany her mother’s coffin on Tuesday when it leaves Scotland for London. Palace Confidential host Jo Elvin stated that Anne has “certainly proved to have a significant role in all of this”.
The Mail on Sunday’s Charlotte Griffiths said: “I think it sounds like the Queen actually asked for her to be the one that went down on the six-hour trip from Balmoral to Edinburgh.
“So she did that and she’s also going on the plane with the Queen’s body back to London.”
She added: “Certainly she was a really key part of the Queen’s life.
“They were immensely close.”
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Ms Griffiths noted that the two shared “a love of horses”, adding: “I think Anne was by her side when the final moment came”.
She added that Anne was “staying in Balmoral at the time”.
Anne, who is known for her hard-working attitude, has “so many commitments” and that’s why “she was in Scotland at the time of the death”.
The Princess Royal is believed to have been the only one alongside King Charles III by her mother’s bedside when she died last week.
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Princess Anne was the second of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s four children.
Royal fans have often praised the member of the Firm for her famous hard-working and no-nonsense attitude.
Clive Irving, author of The Last Queen: How Queen Elizabeth II Saved The Monarchy, previously told Express.co.uk that he believes Anne is “one of the most quietly effective and influential members of the Royal Family”.
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Speaking of Anne’s relationship with the Queen, he added that the 72-year-old had a “great deal of influence on her mother” and vice versa.
Mr Irving added that the pair “have always been very close.”
The flight to London is scheduled for Tuesday evening, after which the Queen’s remains will stay at Buckingham Palace until Wednesday.
In the morning, King Charles III will guide a procession from the Palace to Westminster Hall where the late Queen will lay in state until her funeral on September 19.
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