Princess Anne has always had a soft spot for her troubled nephew, Harry, writes KATE MANSEY.

Her famous work ethic, sustained over the course of many decades of unstinting royal duty and support for charity, has won Princess Anne plaudits across the world.

Now, however, it seems the King’s only sister has earned admiration from an unlikely quarter: the Royal Family’s biggest critic, her nephew Prince Harry.

Eagle-eyed Royal watchers tuning into the Coronation might have been surprised to see the warmth of the encounter between Harry and his aunt at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Dressed in her Blues and Royals uniform beneath the dark green Thistle Mantle, the Princess Royal stopped to chat to Harry as she made her way to the front of the Abbey.

Princess and Anne and her nephew Harry have a genuine rapport as this display of warmth shows. Lip readers suggest Harry was telling his aunt he was happy to be seated a few rows behind other senior members of the Royal Family

The Princess Royal and Prince Harry seem to share a sense of humour! They are seen here at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston in May 2019

Princess Anne’s feather was the subject of much comment as it seemed block her nephew’s view of the Coronation. But the prince seemed unconcerned

While most senior royals ignored the Prince who quit his duties to move abroad, Anne appeared to ask Harry – who remains the fifth in line to the Throne – if was okay with his seat three rows back. Would he be able to see beyond her high feathered cap?

In what looked to be a good-humoured exchange, lip-reading experts reportedly revealed he told her: ‘I don’t mind’ before saying ‘Sit at the front!’

If viewers watching at home were surprised by the frank and jovial conversation so, it seemed, were some Royals in the pews behind.

But one of the most endearing qualities of Princess Anne – apart from her well-earned title as the ‘hardest-working Royal’ – is her ability to get on with things.

It is a ‘keep calm and carry on mantra’ adopted from her parents. It also means that she doesn’t waste energy on grudges. 

An outlook that some feel Harry could do well to emulate.

Many may not realise that Anne seemed to have a soft spot for Prince Harry from the beginning, and the more so when he lost his mother at such a young age.

Princess Anne has had a soft spot for Harry from the very beginning – seen here after Trooping the Colour on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

Princess and Diana, the Late Princess of Wales, accompany Harry to St George’s Chapel, Windsor for the wedding of Lady Helen Windsor to Tim Taylor in 1992

At ease in each other’s company, Anne and Harry share a confidence on the palace balcony following Trooping the Colour in 2006

And while her refusal to give her children Royal titles may seem at odds with Harry and Meghan’s insistence on their two children Archie and Lilibet being titled Prince and Princess, Anne and Harry have more in common than many people might realise.

She was one of the few members of the Royal family who wasn’t targeted in Prince Harry’s excoriating take down.

An insider said: ‘The Princess Royal has always had a soft spot for Harry and they both have a wicked sense of humour. People talk about Prince Andrew being the Spare but Anne was the second-born, too, and particularly since Diana died has always felt a duty to support her nephew. Both Anne and Harry have a great sense of humour and more in common than it might seem.’  

One particularly memorable moment between the pair came in May 2008 – 15 years ago – when Princess Anne presented the Afghanistan war campaign medals to officers and soldiers of the Household Cavalry Regiment, including Lieutenant Wales, as Harry was then. 

Could Anne be called upon by King and country to build a bridge between father and son?

As with most acts of service – at least as far as the Princess Royal is concerned – if duty calls then she will oblige.

A proud aunt, the Princess Royal, presents her nephew Lieutenant Wales with an Afghan war campaign medal, along with other officers and soldiers from the Household Cavalry

Anne, her husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence and Harry in animated conversation before the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London

A relaxed discussion between Harry and Anne as they make their way to the thanksgiving service for the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in 2012

Prince Harry, Princess Anne and Mike Tindall, her son-in-law, collapse in what seems to be helpless laughter as the attend the Patron’s Lunch a special street party outside Buckingham Palace to mark the late Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016