Princess Anne told her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, to “ignore” a group of anti-monarchy protesters during the Commonwealth Day Service, a lip reader has revealed.Â
The Princess Royal, 75, attended the annual ceremony at Westminster Abbey alongside senior members of the Royal Family on Monday.
As she and Sir Timothy, 71, approached the historic London church, a group of demonstrators from anti-monarchist campaign group Republic had gathered nearby, waving banners reading “Abolish the monarch” and “Down with the crown”.
According to forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling, Sir Timothy pointed out the protesters as the couple walked past.
Anne appeared unimpressed by the disruption.
“Don’t listen to them, ignore them,” she reportedly told her husband.
Hickling told the Daily Mail the Princess Royal then attempted to steer the conversation away from the protest, turning her attention to the music being played by a nearby band.
“Oh listen to that, do you know what it is they’re playing?” Anne asked, seemingly trying to distract from the chants and shouting.
At one point, a protester reportedly called out to King Charles III as he arrived for the service.
“What did you know?” the demonstrator shouted, a remark widely interpreted as a reference to the scandal surrounding the disgraced former Duke of York, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Despite the demonstrations, many members of the public had gathered along the streets outside Westminster Abbey to greet the royal family, cheering as they arrived for the service.
Lip reader Hickling said the atmosphere among senior royals appeared tense during the gathering, which came just weeks after the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
According to Hickling’s analysis of the footage, King Charles seemed concerned by the mood outside the Abbey as he arrived.
“It’s not good out there…it’s rather tense, isn’t it? It’s not good,” he appeared to say before greeting other members of the family.
The monarch was then seen speaking briefly with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Hickling claims Prince William stepped slightly forward and responded: “We’re not happy”.
During another exchange captured on camera, William was also seen speaking quietly with his aunt, Princess Anne.Â
“I’ve had enough of hearing his name,” the future king reportedly told her, although Hickling said she could not confirm who the Prince was referring to.
The tense backdrop to the gathering follows the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor two weeks ago.
The former Duke of York, 66, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following the release of documents in the Epstein Files, which revealed details about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Neither Princess Anne nor the Prince and Princess of Wales have publicly commented on the arrest.
However, King Charles addressed the situation in a rare statement shortly after the news broke, saying he was “deeply concerned” by the development.