Princess Anne admitted that things are harder for young royals

The Princess Royal And The Duchess Of Cambridge Visit Maternal Healthcare Organisations

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 15 August 2023

Princess Anne turns 73 on 15 August, and media outlets are looking back at some of her highlights over the years to celebrate her birthday.

One such highlight came when she gave an exclusive interview for the documentary Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, which came out in 2020. In this interview, she conceded that although royal life is always more difficult for the young members of the family, it's especially difficult now for the likes of Prince William and Princess Kate because of social media.

"The pressure that is applied to the younger members of the family, it's always worse," the Princess Royal said at the time (via OK!).

"That's what the media is interested in. That's hard sometimes to deal with. But there was no social media in my day, and it's probably made it more difficult."

She continued: "With online technology… being in touch is one thing but it’s not quite the same. The ability to meet people, that’s what makes the difference. I know what Twitter is, but I wouldn’t go anywhere near it if you paid me frankly. But that’s a slightly different issue."

We can't help but agree with Anne a little bit — social media really has made a lot of things more difficult for everyone these days.

Meanwhile, this will sadly be a less joyful birthday for Anne, as it's her first one since her late mother Queen Elizabeth II died last September. Thankfully, though, she has many family members to support her — including her husband, children, and five grandchildren.

"Kids take you out of your world, into a space full of laughter… or tantrums… toys and playtime. Whatever they’re up to, it’s all-consuming, leaving no time to think about how sad you are really feeling," royal expert Jennie Bond told OK!.

"They also throw your focus onto the future, instead of dwelling on the past, and I imagine Princess Anne will be taking every chance to be with her grandchildren — as much as she can with her extremely busy work schedule."

Wishing a happy birthday to the Princess Royal!

Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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