Princess Anne smiles as she makes first public appearance since brother Andrew was stripped of his ‘prince’ title – amid reports she’s ‘concerned’ about his wellbeing

Princess Anne today put on a smiled today as she was seen for the first time since her brother Andrew was stripped of his ‘prince’ title and home. 

The Princess Royal, 75, visited the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh as part of a pre-planned excursion. 

As usual, Anne appeared committed to her duties, even grinning at one point as she greeted the players during the Captain’s Team Run. 

The King was also seen today around Sandringham Estate in Norfolk in a Range Rover.

Last night, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Andrew will no longer be known as a prince and, from now on, will simply be called Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. 

A statement from the Palace said ‘censures are deemed necessary’ amid the ongoing scandal over Jeffrey Epstein, whom Andrew lied about cutting ties with, and revealed he will leave the Royal Lodge in Windsor after 20 years. 

Commonly said to be the ‘hardest-working royal’ and King Charles’s ‘right-hand woman’, Anne is considered a very different character to the disgraced Andrew. 

She chose not to give her children titles, and unlike Andrew, is known to shy away from extravagance.

However, she is said to feel ‘concerned’ about the mounting pressure facing her younger brother, 65, who still sits before her in the line of succession due to the old laws of male-preference primogeniture, which were overturned in 2013. 

Speaking on Palace Confidential last week, royal expert Richard Kay said: ‘I think they’ve [Anne and Edward] been concerned about their brother’s wellbeing and how he’s handling this intense pressure. 

The Princess Royal, 75, visited the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh

‘His reputation is in the gutter. I think both Anne and Edward have been concerned about how the King handles the whole situation and story. I think they feel there’s a duty of care towards Prince Andrew.’

Just last month, the siblings were seen talking as they attended the funeral of the Duchess of Kent, while William noticeably gave Andrew a far more frosty reception.  

In March 2024, Andrew and Anne appeared to still be on good terms as they were seen chatting together at the Easter service. 

Previously, an insider claimed that members of the royal family were left ‘disappointed’ with how the King had handled the Royal Lodge situation. 

Speaking to Woman’s Day magazine, a source claimed: ‘Charles does look at the current state of his family with deep concern. Everyone, it seems, has issues, whether it be health, financial, legal. 

‘This situation with Andrew and the Royal Lodge has somewhat divided the family… with Anne, Sophie, and Edward all disappointed in how he’s handled it.’ 

The bombshell statement from the Palace on Thursday night read: ‘His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.

‘Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.

‘Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.

As usual, Anne appeared committed to her duties, even smiling at one point as she greeted the players during the Captain’s Team Run

Just last month, the siblings were seen talking as they attended the funeral of the Duchess of Kent

Anne is said to be ‘concerned’ about the mounting pressure her brother is facing (pictured 2022)

‘These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.

‘Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.’

It is understood that King Charles III is in the process of sending royal warrants to the Lord Chancellor to remove his brother’s titles and honours. Andrew is said to have not objected. 

It is understood Prince William and the Royal Family fully support the King’s leadership on the recent move. 

The move was entirely down to the King and his advisers, without pressure from the government or other family members, such as Prince William, sources told the Daily Mail.

‘The process has been under way for some while but there was a need to get it right in the face of some very big challenges,’ an insider said.

Notice was not served on Prince Andrew to move. It was his lease, so it was up to the former Duke of York to serve notice himself, suggesting that he is not fighting the process.

The former duke has lived at the Grade II-listed mansion on the grounds of Windsor Castle for over two decades with Fergie, despite their divorce in 1996.

Last week, the row over the Royal Lodge continued to grow amid damning revelations in a posthumous memoir from Andrew’s sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life this year, aged 41.

Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice was released in this month, with the manuscript having been completed before she died.

The explosive book revolves around her years spent as a sex slave to Epstein and his British madam Ghislaine Maxwell.

Extracts published by The Guardian show Ms Giuffre, who said she was trafficked by Epstein three times for sex with Andrew, called the ex-duke ‘entitled’ and viewing sex as his ‘birthright’.

Within the 400-page autobiography, she also alleged the ex-duke said ‘thank you’ in a ‘clipped British accent’ after their alleged first encounter when she was 17.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in a photo reportedly taken in 2001, when Giuffre was 17 years old. Prince Andrew denied having sex with Ms Giuffre, but forked out millions in an out of court settlement in February 2022

She also recalled how Ghislaine Maxwell praised her following the encounter, saying, ‘You did well, the prince had fun’.

Andrew denied having sex with Ms Giuffre, but forked out millions in an out-of-court settlement in February 2022.

In the wake of the Giuffre scandal, Andrew is facing a private prosecution over allegations of sexual assault, corruption and misconduct in public office. 

It comes just weeks after Andrew was forced to relinquish his royal titles, including the Duke of York and stepping down from membership of the Order of the Garter. 

His wife Sarah, formerly the Duchess of York, will now be known as plain Sarah Ferguson.