King Charles' touching relationship with sister Princess Anne is unmatched
The Princess Royal has been by the monarch's side for decades...King Charles knew he was destined to sit on the throne for most of his life, but among the siblings by his side throughout the decades was his sister Princess Anne – so what type of relationship do they have?
The then Prince Charles grew up with three younger siblings, Princess Anne (The Princess Royal), Prince Andrew (Duke of York) and Prince Edward (Formerly the Duke of Wessex and now the Duke of Edinburgh).
While it may feel like the lives of the royals are world’s away from our own, they’re still a family. King Charles’ and Princess Anne’s close relationship signifies a deep sibling bond that we still see to this day.
We take a look at the duo, their lives as children and how The Princess Royal has supported her brother‘s ascension to the throne.
What relationship is Princess Anne to King Charles?
Princess Anne is King Charles’ younger sister. She is the second child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
She was born two years after Charles, in 1950, and is the only sister of the king.
Whereas Andrew is 10 years younger than Anne and Prince Edward 14. Therefore, Charles and Anne have the closest age gap between the four siblings, so it’s no wonder they may appear closer than the others.
They spent a lot of time together growing up
Their bond goes back to the early days of their life. Throughout childhood they spent a lot of time together alone with staff while their parents undertook royal tours and duties.
They bonded over gardening during their time at Buckingham Palace, and have kept up the hobby as adults.
Speaking of the hobby, Charles told Simon Armitage on Radio 4: “My sister and I had a little vegetable patch in the back of some border somewhere. We had great fun trying to grow tomatoes rather unsuccessfully and things like that.”
He added: “There was a wonderful Head Gardener at Buckingham Palace, he was called Mr Nutbeam, rather splendidly. He was splendid and he helped us a bit, my sister and I with the little garden we had.”
Read more: Princess Anne was ‘opposed’ to Camilla’s queen consort title as she’d ‘never be a true queen’
Charles’ sister was Prince Philip’s ‘favourite’
However, it was claimed their father Prince Philip was tough on Charles growing up and he favourited his sister Princess Anne.
In the documentary Prince Charles at 50: Heir to Sadness, biographer Anthony Holden claimed his sister Princess Anne was the ‘tougher one’.
He said: “Particularly in childhood, Charles could be reduced to tears by Philip driving him on, thinking he was a bit of a wimp, that Anne was the tougher one and that’s what he wanted his son to be. That’s remained true in adulthood.”
A stable hand for the royals also claimed her strong character scared Charles when they were growing up.
They claimed to The Sun previously: “She behaved as if she had every intention of being the next monarch rather than her brother.”
Ingrid Seward also claimed in her book ‘My Husband and I’ that Queen Elizabeth II once told off her daughter when she reportedly hit her brother with a riding crop. The incident brought the youngster to tears and she said: “Why can’t you behave yourselves!”
What does Princess Anne call King Charles?
Rumours say Princess Anne’s nickname for King Charles is ‘old bean’. It’s believed the sweet and funny moniker is referencing him being the older sibling out of the foursome and being two years her senior.
Royal editor Hannah Furniss reflected on Anne’s nickname for Charles, which was overheard during the documentary Charles: III: The Coronation Year.
She explained: “There was a lovely moment in the documentary recently where we saw her calling Charles ‘Old Bean’. They have this very warm relationship and she is probably in a better position than anyone to give him advice, give him a bit of sympathy when he needs it, give him a bit of a pep talk.
“She understands how the royal family works and she has a bit of an eye to the past and to the future.”
Read more: Inside King Charles’ ‘plan’ for a modern monarchy and what that looks like for the royal family
Do Charles and Anne have a good relationship?
It’s clear the siblings are close, and this was put on public display when they led the late Queen Elizabeth II’s procession at her funeral. Princes Andrew and Edward followed closely behind them.
In the first years of his reign, he named Anne and Edward as Counsellors of State as well. This means his sister and brother can step in and perform duties on King Charles’ behalf if he is ever unable to do so.
Anne has stepped in on more than one occasion for her brother, especially after his cancer diagnosis.
They seem to share a sense of humour as well, as in one visit when he had been in Scotland, the then Prince Charles opted to wear a kilt. But a woman was overheard asking “is that the Princess Royal?” and he found the interaction hilarious. He later told the story to Anne who reflected: “And I am wearing trousers today!”
In another instance, she was mistakenly introduced as the Prince of Wales during a public engagement. But Anne took it in her stride and quipped: “There’s a worry!” while cracking a smile.
Odd love ‘square’ between King Charles, his sister Princess Anne, Queen Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles
Not so much a love triangle than a ‘square’, but their earlier relationships were intertwined.
We know from King Charles and Queen Camilla’s love story that it became messy when it came to her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles – but Princess Anne is connected to it as well. The future monarch wanted to marry Camilla, who was dating Andrew, who was courting Princess Anne at the time.
Back in 1970, when Camilla and Andrew were not exclusive, he took Anne as his date for Ascot week as he wasn’t ready to settle down. It’s said that after being snubbed by Andrew, Camilla grew close to Charles.
Penny Junor later claimed at the Henley Literary Festival Camilla may have initiated the relationship to get back at Anne and Andrew.
“She thought ‘Andrew is at the moment off with Princess Anne, you know her brother, teach Andrew a lesson.’ So she had a fling with Charles,” she said.
Missing Prince Harry’s christening
Despite Princess Anne and King Charles having a close relationship, like many sibling bonds, there are times brother and sister can be at loggerheads.
It was noticed how Anne didn’t attend the christening of Prince Harry, which some thought was due to a small feud between the pair.
When asked why she was a no-show on an Australian TV show, she said she had ‘made plans’ in advance.
“I was only given the choice of one day,” she said at the time.
“As far as we were concerned, it was a date my husband had fixed and he was away in Australia when all this came up. It was actually one of those rare occasions when we had actually made a plan a long way in advance, which is rare with us.”
However, Robert Lacey, royal expert, later wrote in his book Battle of Brothers that the Princess Royal was upset she wasn’t asked to be a godmother to her two nephews.
He claimed she was angry because Charles was asked to be the role for her son Peter Phillips.
Lacey said: “The prince did not return the compliment when it came to William – or, rather, according to rumour, he had very much wanted to invite his sister, only to be blocked by his wife [Princess Diana].
Sibling rivalry
In Channel 4’s documentary ‘The Real Princess Anne’, there was a small hint of a feud between the pair in their younger years.
It’s said Princess Anne hated being in the shadow of her brother Prince Charles, and “playing the second fiddle”.
Echoing comments about Philip believing Anne was ‘stronger’ than her brother, body language expert Judi James once told the Express that the royal was ‘gifted all the confidence’.
Not only that, but she’s often dubbed the hardest working royal for multiple years in a row. In 2017, she was declared as the royal completing the most engagements and events. It has continued most years, including Charles’ first year on the throne in 2023, when she surpassed him again.
However, due to Charles’ cancer diagnosis in 2024 and needing time off for treatment, it wouldn’t be a surprise she would take the crown again for most engagements.
Read more: What would actually happen if King Charles chose to resign and announced his abdication
Funny Christmas gifts
The family are known to give gag gifts when it comes to the holidays, because what do you get a royal who has everything?
For Princess Anne she once gifted King Charles a leather toilet seat for Christmas, which was said to be white in colour.
Former royal butler Paul Burrell made the claim, saying it was referencing the royal’s love of toilet humour.
It may have alluded to the rumour that the future king would take his own personal toilet seat wherever he went. But the king later dismissed the claims as ludicrous when he was asked about it years later.
Key role during coronation
One example of their close bond is how King Charles entrusted his sister with the role of Gold-Stick-in-Waiting at his own coronation in 2023.
She was in charge of his personal security on the day – if that doesn’t prove she’s his closest confidante, nothing else will!
Anne also took up the part as the personal aide-de-camp to Charles and travelled on horseback behind the king and Queen Camilla on the day.
She resumed her role as Charles’ bodyguard during the State Opening of Parliament in November 2023.
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