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The Princess Royal is one of the hardest-working royals

Princess Anne has always been known for her no-nonsense attitude, and in a rare candid interview, she shared her thoughts on how royal life has changed over the decades – especially for younger members of the family, like the Princess of Wales.

Speaking in the 2020 documentary, Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, which aired to celebrate her milestone birthday, the King’s sister reflected on the increased pressures faced by the modern generation of working royals.

Acknowledging the intense media scrutiny that has made their roles far more challenging than in her early years, Princess Anne explained: “The pressure that is applied to the younger members of the family, it’s always worse. That’s what the media is interested in.

That’s hard sometimes to deal with. But there was no social media in my day, and it’s probably made it more difficult.”

Princess Anne went on to speak about the impact of social media on royal engagements, suggesting that while it has its advantages, it can never truly replace face-to-face interactions.

With online technology… being in touch is one thing, but it’s not quite the same. The ability to meet people, that’s what makes the difference,” she explained.

The royal added: “I know what Twitter is, but I wouldn’t go anywhere near it if you paid me, frankly. But that’s a slightly different issue.”

Last month, the Princess Royal gave royal watchers an insight into her future plans, admitting retirement “isn’t really an option” for her.

The royal, who will turn 75 in August, completed the royal family’s first foreign tour of the year – a visit to South Africa – when she described how stepping down from her role was not a consideration.

Asked about her future and whether retirement was an option, she replied: “It really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so.”

Princess Anne told the PA news agency: “I don’t think there’s a retirement programme on this particular life.”

Princess Anne has been named the hardest-working royal many years in a row. The 74-year-old is a key member of King Charles’ slimmed-down working monarchy and has played an important role as she stepped up in support of Charles amid his cancer diagnosis.

She carried out her first public engagement in 1969 aged 18 when she opened an educational and training centre in Shropshire and a year later began her longest association with a charity, becoming president of Save the Children and later patron.