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Princess Anne will act as her brother King Charles III’s “closest confidante” as he transitions to his new role as monarch in place of their beloved mother, the Queen, according to a royal expert. Royal commentator Camilla Tominey said the Princess Royal will continue to be a “front-row royal” along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex as they serve King Charles.
And although they have always led “separate lives”, she said Princess Anne will act as the King’s “closest confidante” in his new role following the death of Britain’s longest reigning monarch on Monday.
Writing for the Daily Telegraph, she said: “Anne’s proximity in age to the King, 73, means that, of all the siblings, she will likely act as his closest confidante – but they have always led quite separate lives.
“With their brother Andrew having stepped back from royal duties, Anne will continue to be a ‘front-row royal’ along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex in the court of King Charles.”
Princess Anne made history this week when she became the first woman to stand guard by her late mother’s oak coffin at the vigil at St Giles’ Cathedral on Monday with her brothers.
Anne took on the duty of accompanying her mother’s body back to London, with the Queen leaving Scotland for the last time bound for RAF Northolt on Tuesday.
The Queen’s oak coffin, accompanied by Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, travelled to Buckingham Palace where the King, the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were waiting to receive it.
READ MORE: King Charles III urged to honour Princess Anne and Sophie Wessex
King Charles III accedes the throne immediately after the death of his mother, having been the heir apparent since he was three-years-old.
As he mourns the loss of the Queen, who he described as “a cherished Sovereign”, read his first statement as King HERE.
The Queen’s only daughter was also at the bedside of the monarch when she took her final breath on Thursday at her Scottish residence in Balmoral.
She has since accompanied her mother’s coffin on it’s long journey from Scotland to London.
Ms Tominey said this “once again proved” Anne’s “willingness to go the extra mile for an institution she has served unwaveringly for more than half a century”.
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She said: “Ever since that heartbreaking day for the royals, the Crown has endured, with the smooth transition to the reign of Charles III supported by a family united in its desire to lead a nation in respectful mourning.
“But there has also been one constant: Princess Anne, the ever-dutiful daughter who has played such a dignified role in what the King has described as their late mother’s “last great journey.”
The royal commentator added: “Long regarded as a ‘Daddy’s girl’ thanks to her similar no-nonsense temperament to Prince Philip, what we have learned this sorrowful week is that the woman who was never destined to be Queen has proved herself once again to be every inch her mother’s daughter.”
Paying tribute to the Queen, Princess Anne said it was an “honour and a privilege” to accompany her on her “final journeys”.
Anne, 72, told how she was “fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life”.
She said the love and respect shown to the Queen on her journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh and onto London had been “both humbling uplifting”.
The princess also thanked the nation for the “support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles” as he takes on his duties as King.
She ended her statement with the words: “To my mother, The Queen, thank you.”
The Queen’s death, at the age of 96, has plunged the nation into mourning for a monarch who had reigned for 70 years.
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