Royals Expert Breaks Down Coronation Controversies & Festivities

Horse girl? Try, equine princess.

Princess Anne was the lone royal connected horseback astatine the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla connected May 6. As the royal procession near London's Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, the 72-year-old was spotted decked retired successful regalia arsenic she rode connected a equine down her member and sister-in-law, who were seated wrong the Gold State Coach. (See each the guests astatine the coronation here.)

So, wherefore was Anne not successful a carriage similar the remainder of her family? The Princess Royal was serving arsenic Charles' "Gold-Stick-in-Waiting," a bodyguard presumption dating backmost to the Tudor period.

"Gold Stick was the archetypal adjacent extortion officer," she explained successful a caller interrogation with Canada's CBC News. "That is simply a relation I was asked if I'd similar to bash for this coronation, truthful I said yes."

In addition, Anne joked that accepting the position, which would spot her connected horseback adjacent to the monarch during the parade to support him from harm, "solves my formal problem."

And Anne is very comfy astir horses. After all, she competed successful a three-day equestrian lawsuit astatine the 1976 Olympics. 

"I thought if I was going to bash thing extracurricular of the royal family, horses was apt to beryllium the champion mode of doing it," she recalled of her equestrian vocation to Vanity Fair successful 2020. "But past you person to find the close equine astatine the close time. The archetypal equine I rode was bred arsenic a polo pony and should ne'er person been an lawsuit horse, but it worked, truthful that was precise satisfying."