Hardest working Royal of 2016? Prince Charles – numbers of engagements compared

The figures of 2016’s Court Circular have been released, showing that Prince Charles carried out the highest number of engagements this year, followed closely in second place by his sister, Princess Anne.

Prince Charles and Princess Anne performed the most engagements in 2016. Picture by Andrew Parsons / i-Images

The rankings are as follows:

Royal UK engagements Engagements abroad
Prince Charles 432 98
Princess Anne 392 117
The Queen 332 0
Prince Andrew 258 65
Prince Edward 241 118
Prince Philip 219 0
Duke of Gloucester 196 9
Duke of Kent 149 10
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall 144 77
Sophie, Countess of Wessex 143 36
Prince William 117 71
Duchess of Gloucester 109 12
Prince Harry 82 70
Princess Alexandra 82 6
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge 79 61

Included in the numbers above are official events, such as charity events, concerts and opening ceremonies, as well as meetings, investitures, audiences and receptions attended by the Royal in question. It is compiled by the Times.

These figures, in fact, show a slight increase in the work load of The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, in spite of their age. Neither carried out engagements abroad.

It should be noted that Her Majesty is actively attempting to lighten her workload, as seen in passing on a number of patronages to her children and grandchildren last week.

Prince Charles also upped his total number of engagements in the UK, by around 50, but decreased his work abroad by the same number. Princess Anne, who last year topped the table with the highest number of engagements (465), did approximately 60 fewer engagements at home, but 30 more abroad.

Older members of the Royal Family, including the Gloucesters and the Kents, conducted a high number of engagements, when many of them are over 70 years old.

Meanwhile, The Duke of Cambridge, who also works part-time as an air ambulance pilot, undertook 117 official duties. His wife, Kate, did just 79; 2016 did include her first solo visit abroad, when she met Dutch King Willem-Alexander in the Netherlands. The couple also visited Canada in late September with their children.

Another analysis was given this year, too, by the Press Association. They reported on the total number of days spent out doing engagements, which is misleading, as often numerous engagements are carried out in one area in one day, as seen with Princess Anne and Prince Charles. This also means that ‘behind-the-scenes’ work, such as meetings with charity organisers and audiences are not included, which portrays Her Majesty to work little…

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry many fewer engagements than older Royals in the family in 2016. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images

In this version of events, The Princess Royal topped the table, with 170 working days, followed by The Prince of Wales on 139. Their brothers, The Earl of Wessex and Duke of York come in at 3rd and 4th with 118 and 112 days worked respectively.

Next is The Duke of Edinburgh, making appearances on 110 days at the age of 95. Prince Harry takes 6th place with 86 days, and The Queen languishes behind him with 80 days, tying with The Duke of Cambridge. The Duchess, meanwhile, reportedly worked just 63 days this year.

While not seen as much, according to this figure, The Queen still has her red boxes of government papers to read each day, meets with ambassadors, regularly and has audiences with the Prime Minister each week – and all at the age of 90.

Prince Harry was also the most-travelled Royal of the year, clocking up around 61,800 miles on overseas public engagements. His uncle, Prince Edward also saw much of the globe in 2016, with 61,400 miles travelled for his duties.

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