This Royal Family Member Was Deeply Impacted by the Death of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8th September 2022 at Balmoral Castle, United Kingdom due to age-related issues. Princess Anne was most impacted by the passing of her adored mother, according to Paul Burrell, a former royal butler, who spoke about the events two years following the passing."It affected Anne greatly, being the only daughter, and she's carrying her mother's mantle in many ways, very stoic, hard-working, dedicated to the country. Anne is the best Queen we never had, because she is very much like Prince Philip, obviously has his mannerisms and his ways, but has her mother's heart, and that's why she works so hard and doesn't ask for anything in return, because that's her job, and she understands it," Burrell said as per The UK Mirror. 

Praising the royal further he added, "Princess Royal, the Queen's only daughter, 'works so hard and doesn't ask for anything in return' to honor both her mum and dad Prince Philip". In a poignant message, Princess Anne mentioned her mother and how lucky she was to have spent the last 24 hours with the queen. Elizabeth II's lone daughter described her visit to Balmoral prior to her mother's demise as "serendipitous" and said she "strangely felt a sense of relief" when the Imperial State Crown was lifted from her coffin", signifying King Charles's assumed leadership of the family. 

According to GloucestershireLive, Princess Anne spoke extensively about her late mother in a 90-minute documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year by BBC, “I think there was a moment when she felt that it would be more difficult if she died at Balmoral. And I think we did try and persuade her that that shouldn’t be part of the decision-making process.” She added: “So I hope she felt that that was right in the end because I think we did.” “My mother’s funeral in St George’s, he takes the crown off the coffin – I rather weirdly felt a sense of relief, somehow that’s it, finished. That responsibility being moved on.” 

“To be honest I’m not sure that anybody can really prepare themselves for that kind of change not easily. And then the change happens and you go ‘OK, I now have to get on with it’. Monarchy is a 365 days a year occupation, it doesn’t stop because you change monarchs, for whatever reason,” Princess Anne shared her views about the monarch. The former royal butler said about Balmoral's importance, "As I said, her shadow is a very long one, even in death, I think Balmoral might as well be bigger than Brigadoon because time stands still. Here, this special place is remembered as the Queen's home, and two years on, the Royals will be thinking about that."

"Of course, they will, and they'll go to church, and they'll all think about their mother, their grandmother, their aunt, or their queen. And it didn't just affect the royal family, it affected the country and all the people that worked on the estate who loved her. So it's a very somber, poignant time and it will be for many years to come." He added, "For 70 years, she was monarch. Her 70 years reign ended at Balmoral, two years ago, and that's why Balmoral is still so special in the royals' world, because Balmoral was close to the Queen's heart."

Burrell continued, "I think this year in Balmoral will be particularly poignant for Charles because it's two years into being king, two years since his mother died. Balmoral is a very poignant place because time stands still and our dear Queen casts a long shadow over everything. Especially for the family, and especially Balmoral because she was a larger-than-life presence that filled Balmoral castle. I bet they see her around every corner, and remember the things that she did. They'll remember everything that she did within the castle because she loved Balmoral."