Princess Anne Issues Emotional Statement After King Charles’ ‘Terrible’ Health Update

Princess Anne has widely been regarded as the hardest-working royal. And that’s not just words, either. In 2024, the last full year, she outnumbered absolutely every working royal when it came to royal engagements undertaken. In fact, she had 473, which was over 100 more than King Charles, who came in second place with 372 engagements. A distant third was Prince Edward with 293. So basically, Princess Anne can always be counted on. So it was strange to see her miss a couple of scheduled engagements.

The Princess Royal apologized for cancelling two engagements in Northern Ireland on September 10 due to technical problems with the aircraft she was set to travel in. According to the BBC  a spokesperson said the Princess “apologised to any who were disappointed or inconvenienced as a result of the technical issues.” Princess Anne hopes “to make arrangements to visit on another occasion.”

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Princess Anne’s cancellations are nothing serious, though these days people are paying more and more attention to the health of absolutely all the royals, particularly after Kate Middleton’s battle with cancer and King Charles’ ongoing fight with the disease. The King, very recently, joked, not about his illness but about his age.

During a recent visit to officially open the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick, the BBC reported that after a woman told the King said she was “wearing out,” King Charles responded: “That’s the terrible thing I’m discovering. Bits don’t work so well when you get past 70.”

Recent reports about the King suggest his cancer could not be cured, but it could be managed. Writer and associate editor of the Daily Telegraph, Camilla Tominey, recently said. “The talk now is that he may die ‘with’ cancer, but not ‘of’ cancer following a rigorous treatment program.”

Princess Anne is likely aware of how her brother is doing and what that means not just for her royal engagements now, but also in the future. And if reports are to be believed, she has a pretty good grasp on how important the job she does is and how much of the weight of the crown she carries. The Sunday Times recently reported that the Princess Royal was “annoyed” that her nephew, Prince William, had not taken on more investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle.

She reportedly does the bulk of the ceremonies, even though it’s not as convenient for her. A source close to the Princess said, “She’s still doing most of the investitures [at Windsor] even though William lives there. It annoys her.”

But that doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing less of Anne, not while her brother is King, and likely not when Prince William takes over. The Princess Royal might be 75, but she’s not planning her retirement or anything. In an interview with the Press Association, she said, “I don’t think there’s a retirement program on this particular life. It really isn’t written in, no. It isn’t really an option, no, I don’t think so.”

So, a few canceled engagements or not, Princess Anne is still likely to continue being the face of the monarchy in a lot of the ways that count.

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