Following King Charles's cancer diagnosis in early 2024, Prince William started taking on more responsibilities, particularly when it came to attending engagements on behalf of the Royal Family. However, Princess Anne is allegedly less than impressed with her nephew when it comes to his inaction in one department.
A new profile of Princess Anne—who celebrates her 75th birthday in August—reveals that, according to royal sources, Prince William has been known to irk his aunt. As reported by The Sunday Times's royal editor, Roya Nikkhah, "Prince William is known to admire his aunt's devotion to duty and Anne is fond of her nephew and will support him as king in the future if she is still working when he accedes to the throne." However, the Princess Royal has allegedly been known to criticize Prince William, too.
According to Nikkhah, a royal source shared with The Sunday Times that Princess Anne "would like to see [William] do more of the 'bread-and-butter' royal engagements."
As investitures are carried out by Anne, William, and The King, the Princess Royal would allegedly like her nephew to take initiative and perform more of the ceremonies. "She's still doing most of the investitures [at Windsor] even though William lives there," the royal source said, in reference to the Prince of Wales's current home, Adelaide Cottage. "It annoys her."
The article also explored how Princess Anne developed her career, particularly as the so-called "spare" in her family. "She often talked about how, as children, she was treated so differently from Charles," a friend of the family told the publication. "She was second to him and kicked further down the line of succession as a woman, but she forged her own path."
Much is likely to change within the Royal Family when Prince William becomes king, and it seems as though only more responsibility awaits him.
