A royal source said, ‘Queen Camilla is proud, resilient and devoted and if it serves the King and the nation to step up and serve the nation she will do it.’

Princess Anne has long been celebrated for her quick wit and relentless work ethic. The unique role of stepping up and supporting, standing out and standing at the sidelines has been admirably executed by the Princess Royal over the course of a lifetime. Though not destined to be queen, Anne has never shied away from royal responsibilities. The passing of Queen Elizabeth II was a great public and private loss for the British monarchy; members of the royal family had to grieve whilst assuming new titles and taking on vast responsibility. King Charles’s position was clear from birth: he was to inherit the throne. Anne’s role has always been less clear cut, but the period following the Queen’s passing has seen the Princess Royal carve out a clear, consistent and indispensable role for herself. That role was again been tested – and proven – during the period of concern around King Charles’s prostate issues. Now, following his cancer diagnosis, Anne will be called on in two directions: both to support her brother personally and to help lead the royal family publicly.

Former BBC Royal Correspondent Wesley Kerr told Tatler that Princess Anne has proved that ‘she can be relied on for compete discretion and unconditional love.’ According to Kerr, Anne has a unique combination of understanding – for ‘who and what has shaped Charles’ – as well as a real desire for him to succeed.

At the time of the coronation, Wesley Kerr OBE, told Tatler, ‘She is the person The King has known longest…Anne is wise, intelligent, incredibly plugged into the modern United Kingdom. She understands completely who and what has shaped him and is eager for him to succeed: for the sake of their beloved mum and dad and for country and Commonwealth.

‘In other words, she has the perfect perspective and characteristics to shoulder some of the King’s responsibility at this time.’

Meanwhile the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have long proven themselves a tactful, confident and dependable partnership.

Sophie was long known as a dear favourite of the late Queen’s. Perhaps Queen Elizabeth was on point with her judgement here – as Sophie has continued to deliver as a reliable, likeable and hardworking pair of hands in the ‘slimmed down’ royal family. On Love Your Weekend, with Alan Titchmarsh, Edward intoned over the weekend, ‘I’m incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me. Hopefully we’ve been a really brilliant partnership.’

Indeed, in the face of challenges raised by the absence of Charles and Catherine from the working royal team, Sophie and Edward have appeared unfazed on the public stage – entirely focused on continuing to deliver for the royal family across the country.