Why Queen Elizabeth Seemingly Had Two Sets Of Children Decades Ago

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have been blessed with four children. However, a royal expert recently claimed that their kids were never close.

On the podcast “Royals,” host Smita Mistry said that it seemed as though Her Majesty had two sets of children decades ago. One of the reasons had to do with Prince Charles and Princess Anne’s age gap from Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Royal commentator Angela Mollard seconded Mistry’s thoughts by saying that it also seemed as though the Queen and Prince Philip had two distinct families, one including their two older children and another family including their two younger kids. She also said that Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are very different from each other.

“Honestly, you couldn’t get more different children,” Mollard said. “You’ve got Anne, who’s incredibly strong-willed and forthright. She gets on very well with Prince Philip, she’s his favorite. Charles, who is a softer, gentler character who really did need better parenting, he needed closer parenting. Those two are very different,” she added.

The royal commentator went on to say that Prince Andrew and Prince Edward sort of got on with it. They didn’t also have “the focus so much as younger children.”

“They all get together and they’re all happy at family gatherings but there’s a lot of question marks over how much they see each other between times,” Mollard said. “It’s not like you could say Andrew and Charles are best buddies, it’s not that kind of family.”

Mollard also wondered whether the formality of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at home was what prevented their four children from becoming close. She said that if Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward didn’t grow up in a household filled with affection and communication, they couldn’t possibly have that kind of relationship with each other.

Royal experts previously said that Prince Charles was especially distant from his dad growing up. This was because Prince Philip saw his eldest son as a softie, and he also wanted him to be more like Princess Anne.