Prince William exchanged words with his aunt, Princess Anne, at the Commonwealth Day service.
Prince William

Prince William exchanged a few words with Princess Anne (Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Prince William had a “tense” exchange with his aunt, Princess Anne, as they royals gathered at Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Day service yesterday. The lip-reading expert and analyst at LipReader, Nicola Hickling, revealed the conversation as William made his feelings known.

The lipreader claims the Prince of Wales said to Princess Anne: “I’ve had enough of hearing his name, to be honest.” During the conversation, William also said, “It’s up for debate.”

The expert was unable to confirm who exactly the Prince was referring to with his comments, but it could have been related to the ongoing fallout surrounding the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The former Prince was arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Prince William arrived at Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Service (Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Anti-monarchy campaigners, Republic, staged a protest near the Abbey with placards reading “What did you know?”, in reference to former prince Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Furthermore, the King then told his sister Princess Anne: “It’s not good out there… it’s rather tense, isn’t it? It’s not good.”

It’s likely Charles was referring to the small but vocal group of anti-monarchist protestors outside the Abbey.

The royals arrived to a fanfare inside the Abbey with the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester arriving first, followed by the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the King and Queen were the last to arrive.

All were greeted by the Dean of Westminster and presented to the Chapter and members of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

The senior royals gathered at Westminster Abbey (Image: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

More than 1,800 guests attended the service, which featured readings, prayers, music and dance, from celebrities including former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner and Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse.

The King’s Commonwealth message praised the association of 56 countries as a family “united by shared values of justice, democracy, opportunity, compassion and mutual respect”.

The Commonwealth can be a “force for good”, against a backdrop of wars and international tension in which, “communities and nations face the increasing pressures of conflict, climate change and rapid transformation,” said the King’s message, printed alongside the order of service.