Princess Anne is setting the record straight about her hat.
When Anne, 73, took her seat in Westminster Abbey to watch her brother King Charles III be crowned King in May 2023, her oversized feather hat blocked Prince Harry’s face from cameras — and, ultimately, his view of the ceremony.
In his new book The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, royal biographer Robert Hardman reveals that this was not deliberate.
“This is nonsense. Not only do the Lord Chamberlain’s Office not think like that, but the Princess Royal had only switched to that seat after her request for a speedy exit,” Hardman, 59, writes in the book.
Hardman also directly quotes Princess Anne, who revealed she had questioned whether the hat would be too large to wear during the ceremony.
“’The hat was an interesting question,’ the Princess recalled later. ‘I said: ‘Are you sure you want me to keep the hat on? Because it’s quite a decent-sized hat.’ And the answer was yes. There you go. Not my choice,’” Hardman quotes the Princess as saying.
At the coronation, Anne — along with her now-iconic hat — fulfilled the role of Gold-Stick-in-Waiting.
“I have a role as colonel of the blues and royals in the Household Cavalry regiment as Gold Stick,” Anne told Canada’s CBC News in May 2023. “Gold Stick was the original close protection officer, so that is a role that I was asked if I’d like to do for this coronation. So I said yes, not least of all it solves my dress problem.”
While tensions between Harry, 39, and the royal family have been high since he fled England in early 2020 with his wife, Meghan Markle, his relationship with Princess Anne appears to still be intact. At the coronation, Harry was photographed smiling and chatting with his aunt before the ceremony. Markle, 42, did not attend the coronation.
The Making of a King chronicles how King Charles’ first year on the royal throne has forever shaped the royal family. Hardman includes details about Prince William and Princess Kate’s evolving roles, as well as the latest revelations from Harry and Meghan about the royal institution. It is set to be released on Thursday, January 18.
