Princess Anne Cautions Younger Royals About Trying to 'Reinvent' The 'Wheel'

As Princess Anne’s 70th birthday approaches, she spoke with Vanity Fair about her time as a royal. During the interview, which was published on Wednesday, the British equestrian commented on the younger royals’ approach to philanthropy.

She noted that service isn’t about rushing to get things done, but rather doing the groundwork. Anne emphasized the importance of taking time to educate yourself and really work with people.

“[I am] the boring old fuddy-duddy at the back saying, ‘Don’t forget the basics,’” she chimed.

Her personal preparation and efforts have included visits to Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina with Save the Children.

“I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn’t it? You don’t necessarily look at the previous generation and say, ‘Oh, you did that?’ Or, ‘You went there?’ Nowadays, they’re much more looking for, ‘Oh let’s do it a new way,’” the princess explained. “And I’m already at the stage, ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that. Some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.’”

However, it’s possible that she does empathize with her nephew Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step back from the senior roles in the palace. Anne herself strayed from the royal tradition by choosing not to give her children, Peter and Zara, HRH titles at birth. The 69-year-old’s interview with Vanity Fair, where she commented on the decision, occurred only a month after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s resignation announcement.

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

Despite the challenges that come with a crown, Princess Anne has no plans to retire from her philanthropic lifestyle.

“I don’t think retirement is quite the same [for me],” she told the outlet with a smile. “Most people would say we’re very lucky not to be in that situation because you wouldn’t want to just stop. It is, to a large extent, the choice of the organizations you’re involved with and whether they feel you’re still relevant. But I think both my father and my mother have, quite rightly, made decisions about, you know, ‘I can’t spend enough time doing this and we need to find somebody else to do it’ because it makes sense. I have to admit they continued being there for a lot longer than I had in mind, but we’ll see.”