Princess Anne's position in royal photo 'no accident' after her bombshell Coronation interview

In the ‘slimmed down’ monarchy, King Charles was flanked by the Princess and doting wife Queen Camilla, while there was no place in the first set of Royal photos of the event for his brother Prince Andrew, or son Prince Harry.

And royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams insisted that Princess Anne’s position in the portrait is a testament to how important the popular royal is to the King.

He told the Daily Mail: “Princess Anne's proximity to the sovereign, that's no accident. She's experienced and hard-working.

“Anne's been at it a long long time, she knows the ropes. The King knows how popular she is, so it's no accident his sister is next door to him.

“It shows much how much he appreciates her and how much he will be relying on her, she is extremely popular and has a high profile.

“People know who she is and respect her, that's very important.”

The Princess kept her spot in the King’s inner circle despite challenging the decision to trim down the monarchy.

In an interview given just days before the Coronation, the Princess Royal admitted to disagreeing with her brother on his plans to slimmed-down the monarchy.

Asked for her opinion on the cut down Royal cohort by Canadian channel CBC News, Princess Anne contested: “Well, I think the 'slimmed-down' [monarchy] was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment."

And when the interviewer challenged the Princess’ views, suggesting that the world is changing, she retorted: “It changes a bit. I mean, it doesn't sound like a good idea from where I'm standing, I have to say. I'm not quite sure what else, you know, we can do."

Royal specialist Fitzwilliams also believes slimming down the monarchy will be no easy task for the King with the family portrait at his crowning featuring only four people under the age of 70.

Fitzwilliams noted that King Charles will need to decide just how “slimmed down he wants the monarchy to be”.

As for the omission of the Duke of York and the Duke of Sussex from the group of “people who the King can depend on,” Fitzwilliams added: “The absentees, everyone knows the reasons for that.”

The King also dazzled in a set of solo photos during his anointment and Fitzwilliams reckons the snaps depict an experienced leader who “knows his own mind and is very experienced.”