Princess Anne, Sophie prefer privacy over spotlight unlike Meghan Markle, Prince Harry

Princess Anne and the Duchess of Edinburgh have no desire to emulate Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's high-profile approach, a royal commentator has claimed.

While senior royals have often struggled to gain the same level of media attention as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Fitzwilliams asserts that the Princess Royal, 73, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, prefer not to seek the same spotlight as the Sussexes.

However, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has claimed that the Princess Royal, 73, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, do not crave the spotlight in the same way as the Sussexes.

He opined: "The problem with the Royal Family at the moment is that they are simply not able to do something which attracts attention on the same level – and attention is important if you’re royal."

Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 43, stepped down from their roles as working royals in January 2020 and settled in the US that summer.

Fitzwilliams claimed that the Sussexes' absence has left a "vacuum" in the Royal Family.

Prince William and Princess Kate, both 42, had to increase their workload after the duke and duchess moved stateside.

Meanwhile, Princess Anne and Sophie are two senior royals who carry out a lot of foreign tours, but do not garner the same amount of international coverage and attention as Harry and Meghan.

The commentator added: "Of course, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and others do sterling work and carry out visits abroad.

"But they are not particularly high profile and I don’t think they particularly want to be."

Princess Anne is regularly referred to as the hardest-working royal, having carried out the highest number of public engagements in 2023.

However, she seldom sits down for an interview, and when she does, it is normally to promote her causes and parsonages rather than herself.

Royals go on foreign tours to serve diplomatic, charitable, and cultural purposes, showcasing theirsupport for various causes and strengthening ties between the UK and other countries.

Prince Harry and Meghan were invited in a personal capacity to visit Nigeria in May, and are expected to travel to Colombia at some point this year.

Their unofficial royal tours have been criticised by some, as the pair are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

Fitzwilliams continued to tell The Sun: "The institution does need this oxygen.

"There’s also no doubt that Harry and Meghan discovered this in what I would describe as their faux royal tour to Nigeria."

Regarding the Sussexes' upcoming trip to Colombia, Fitzwilliams said: "It’s going to take an enormous amount of publicity and the Royal Family will not be able to match that in any way that I can foresee."