Princess Anne is set to make royal history, as she will reportedly be taking over Prince Harry’s former role as Captain General of the Royal Marines.
The news comes over a year after Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex gave up their royal titles and duties in March 2020.
In the months since, their responsibilities have been slowly divided among other members of the monarchy.
Princess Anne may be set to take up one of Prince Harry’s former roles.
(Credit: Getty)Now one of the hardest working royals, Anne, is expected to take over one of Harry’s biggest titles.
When Harry quit the monarchy, he had to give up his honorary military titles, including that of Captain General of the Royal Marines.
It’s a title he held for three years, after the late Prince Philip handed it over to him in 2017 when he retired from public royal duties.
Prior to that, the Duke of Edinburgh had held the title for an incredible 64 years.
Now it seems that Anne is set to take on the role, making history as the first woman to ever hold the title.
Though the speculation hasn’t been confirmed by the royal family, someone close to Anne told The Sunday Times the 70-year-old is “very keen” to take on this new duty.
The Queen and Prince Philip’s only daughter, Princess Anne has proven her value to the royal family over the years.
She attends hundreds of royal events and engagements every year, carries several prestigious titles and oversees a number of patronages and charitable efforts.
As for military roles, this wouldn’t be Anne’s first major responsibility and title.
The Princess Royal is already a patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and is Commodore-in-Chief for Portsmouth.
Born in 1950, just under two years after her brother, Prince Charles, Anne was never a major contender for her mother’s throne.
Until 2011, male heirs always took precedent over their female siblings regardless of age.
Princess Anne has always sat behind her brothers in the line of succession.
(Credit: Getty)As such, Anne was bumped down the royal line of succession when Princes Andrew and Edward were born in 1960 and 1964 respectively.
That rule was changed in 2011 with the Perth Agreement, which replaced male-preference primogeniture so that girls no longer lost their places in the line of succession to their brothers.
However, it did not retroactively change the existing line of succession, meaning Anne still sat below her brothers and their children.
She is currently 16th in line to the British throne.
