Concern for Princess Anne as she misses Coronation Concert

July 2024 · 4 minute read

Daughter Zara Tindall was there

The royal family were out in force on Sunday evening to attend the highly-anticipated Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were the guests of honour in the royal box, where they were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and the Duke of Duchess of Edinburgh, Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Wessex. 

Mike and Zara Tindall, who enjoyed a date night out without their three children, were spotted singing along to the acts, including Lionel Richie's performance of .

And Princess Beatrice and Eugenie were also in high spirits as they soaked up the atmosphere with their respective husbands. Watch all the highlights in our 30 second video below...

But there was one notable absentee – Princess Anne.

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Anne, 72, took on an incredibly poignant role at the coronation itself.

As Gold-Stick-in-Waiting, Anne essentially acted as the King's bodyguard and was entrusted with the King's safety.

She was pictured leading a procession of armed forces personnel behind to King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla's carriage on horseback as they left Westminster Abbey and returned to Buckingham Palace.

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But she chose not to attend Sunday’s concert, despite the presence of all major royals.

Ever the pragmatist, Anne is likely to have made the decision for reasons of distance and efficiency.

Earlier on Sunday, she had made a surprise appearance at a coronation street party in Swindon.

Princess Anne visited a Big Lunch street party in Belmont Crescent, near Old Town, alongside Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and spoke to the people who organised the event as well as dozens of attendees.

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Jeremy Holt, member of the organising committee for the Big Lunch street party, said: “I am in awe of the number of official engagements that Her Royal Highness performs each year.

"I was also particularly impressed that, as this was a sharing lunch, she brought with her a personal contribution of food to the lunch.”

The Princess Royal also gave children at the party a commemorative tin as a memento of the day.

Adorned with the Coronation logo on the outside, the tins contained text explaining when and where they were presented, as well as a collection of British and foreign coins and bank notes. 

After such a busy 24 hours, Anne perhaps then couldn’t face the drive back to London - not least because she is scheduled for another appearance on Sunday back in Swindon.

Both she and her husband are attending a community street party as part of the Big Help Out.

Festivities will continue on the Monday bank holiday to celebrate the King’s coronation.

The King and Queen will not be appearing publicly on Monday – the day of the Big Help Out, which is billed as a lasting volunteering legacy to mark Charles’s crowning.

The public have been encouraged to take up hundreds of thousands of volunteering roles on the extra bank holiday with more than 1,500 charities involved.

An app has been created to allow people to search for volunteering opportunities, ranging from helping the elderly to working with environmental charities and supporting animal welfare.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “While wholly supportive of the Big Help Out initiatives taking place right across Britain on Monday May 7, (the King and Queen) will not be attending any events in-person. These will instead be attended by other members of the royal family.”

The extra bank holiday, which will take place across the UK, caps off a long weekend of celebrations.

Sunday night’s concert featured actors, singers and entertainers – and Kermit the Frog who managed to gatecrash the royal box.

Take That, billed as pop “royalty”, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie brought the house down and got the royal family on their feet and dancing – including Charles and Camilla – during the 95-minute extravaganza.

And the Prince of Wales gave the most passionate tribute of the night, telling his father before 20,000 spectators: “Pa, we are all so proud of you.”

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