Princess Anne's strong warning to younger royals: A Message for William or Harry?

Princess Anne voiced her concerns about the younger royals' efforts to alter the family's philanthropic approach, arguing that adhering to tradition might be more effective.

In a rare 2020 interview, King Charles beloved sister Anne cautioned against attempting to modernize royal behaviour, advising those making such efforts to avoid "reinventing the wheel."

Princess Anne, who is involved with over 300 charities, organisations and military regiments, shared at the time: “I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and It’s often true, isn’t it?

"You don’t necessarily look at the previous generations and say, ‘Oh, you did that? Or, you went there?’"

The mother-of-two, who turns 64 today, went on to say that nowadays, younger royals often look for new ways of doing things, but doesn't believe it's always successful.

She added: “And I’m already at the stage, ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel'. We’ve been there, done that ‒ some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.”

While Princess Anne didn't share who her comments were about in the interview with Vanity Fair Magazine, there have long been suggestions Prince William is keen to slim down the monarchy just like his father.

And her words came just four months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to take a step back from their senior royal duties and move to America.

As part of a statement at the time, the married couple shared: "We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.

"It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.

"We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.”

The couple have since remained overseas with their two children; five-year-old Archie and three-year-old Lilibet.

For those unversed, Princess Anne is celebrating her 74th birthday today and received a special birthday tribute from the monarch.

“Wishing The Princess Royal a very Happy Birthday,” the message read atop a collage of Charles and Anne together.