Princess Anne supported Harry and Meghan’s choice as the ‘right thing to do’

Princess Anne opened up about how it’s “probably easier” not to have a title a month after her nephew Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as working royals and gave up using their HRH titles. 

• The Princess Royal spoke out in a past interview, sharing her thoughts about how there are “downsides to having titles”. 
• She revealed that she thought it was the “right thing" to refuse titles for her children, just a month after her nephew Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal exit.
• In other royal news, future king Prince William is warned to ‘think of the bigger picture’ and rise above his feud with Prince Harry.

Princess Anne has long been at the heart of the Royal Family and is devoted to her responsibilities, so much so that she was even found to be the most hard-working royal last year in a recent study. Her strong reputation has often left fans wondering why Princess Anne is 14th in line to the throne, as the second eldest of Queen Elizabeth's children. 

The Princess Royal is also amongst the eight senior royals believed to have been included in the “Firm of Eight” that reports claimed the Queen put together last year. This group was supposedly assembled to make public appearances together. 

Following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back as senior members of the Royal Family early last year, the couple were not thought to be included. And whilst their absence may have been keenly felt by their loved ones, it seems Princess Anne likely understood some aspects of the couple's desire to break with tradition. 

Opening up in a rare interview with Vanity Fair in April last year, the Queen’s daughter spoke of the difficulties that accompany having a title - just a month after Prince Harry and Meghan's royal exit.

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Princess Anne reflected on how she broke with tradition and chose for her children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall not to receive an HRH title from their grandmother.

“I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles,” she said. “So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”

The publication also noted that the interview happened to take place a month after Prince Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping back as working royals and giving up using their HRH titles.

The couple remains the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but no longer formally represent the Queen. They have now settled in their new California family home and just days after announcing they were expecting baby number two last month, it was confirmed by Buckingham Palace that Prince Harry and Meghan would not be returning as working royals.

Following this announcement, Prince Harry opened up during his and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey about stepping away. When asked by Oprah if they had any regrets, Prince Harry stated: "No, I’m really proud of us.

"We did what we had to do and now we have another little one on the way,” 

Throughout recent years, the Sussexes can be seen to be following in Princess Anne’s footsteps in many ways, particularly when it comes to the royal titles of their children. Prince Harry and Meghan reportedly chose for their son Archie to be known simply as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

It is not yet known if the Queen may offer their second baby an HRH title when she is born.