With a small, aging group of senior working royals, King Charles has fewer people than ever to carry out official duties. But there’s one member of the family he’s always counted on, and that’s his sister, Princess Anne. The Princess Royal, 75, kicked off a tour of South Korea with her husband, Sir Tim Laurence, on July 13, and body language expert Darren Stanton shares why Anne was the ideal person for the job.
“I think immense trust is placed in her by The King,” Stanton says. “The fact Anne and Tim Laurence have been chosen for this trip shows that.”
The Princess Royal carried out a wide range of engagements on Tuesday ranging from a solemn event at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery to a visit to one of the world’s largest shipbuilders. Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, Stanton says that it’s clear during her tour that the hard-working Princess Royal is admired in South Korea.
“You can also see that the people she is meeting in Korea have immense respect in her,” he shares. “They show a lot of submissive gestures, but also seem to be really warming to her. People can often be subservient out of fear or nerves, but the broad duchenne smiles on the faces of the people she is meeting shows that this subservience comes from a place of real respect.”
On Tuesday, July 14, the Princess Royal and Laurence traveled to Seoul, attending an event for UK-Korea Sustainable Fashion Futures, visiting Korea University and meeting with representatives from Save the Children, a charity she’s been involved with since 1970. She even met members of the K-Pop group NMIXX during a reception celebrating the UK–Republic of Korea partnership.
“What I have seen of the trip so far really demonstrates why the trust The King has in her is so well placed,” Stanton says of the “incredibly successful start” to the tour. “She is such a natural.”
He notes that the people she’s met “appear to be overjoyed to be in her company,” sharing that “confident and happy” Anne “also seems to be enjoying herself on the trip.”
“Anne is not the kind of person to fake these emotions if they aren’t genuine,” Stanton adds.
