Princess Anne has stepped up while King Charles and Princess Kate have been out of action due to their health woes. Princess Anne has been roundly praised for taking on a third of all royal engagements so far this year, already increasing her workload by two percent compared to this time last year.
The Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, are currently in Canada on a royal tour having already undertaken trips to Sri Lanka and Namibia this year. Royal fans on social media gushed over Anne’s dedication to duty, with one writing: “I didn’t think I could like or respect the Princess Royal any more than I already did. What an amazing woman she is.” Another added: “This is duty and sibling loyalty. Pity some don’t understand.” while a third simply stated: “Thank God for The Princess Royal!”
One person described the Princess as “extraordinary” and another pointed out: “Princess Anne has always been a very hard worker. A lot of what she has done went unnoticed. Now with the smaller Monarchy she is doing even more and is finally being noticed. She is a star.” The Princess Royal may be 73 years old but she shows no sign of slowing down, having undertaken 172 engagements this year up until the end of April. This is four more than she had done by the same time in 2023, as she is one of only three working royals to be doing more in the first four months of this year compared to last year.
Anne has been out and about on almost twice as many days as any other member of the Firm, with health concerns and a more ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy leaving its working members thin on the ground. The elderly Duke of Kent, 88, and the Duke of Gloucester, 79, have also increased their workload, although they were both doing significantly less than Anne to start with. Patricia Treble, a Canadian journalist who has been keeping detailed records of the Court Circular since 2017, told the Daily Mail: “Anne alone has done 31.4 percent of all engagements by working royals in the first third of 2024.
“Edward has done 15.3 per cent, Sophie has done 11.31 per cent. As the top three in 2024, Anne, Edward and Sophie have done 58 per cent of all engagements.” Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie have also been keeping royal life ticking along as much as possible, as Prince William took time out to be there for his family following Kate’s cancer diagnosis. However he has been back out on duty recently, as he prepares to travel to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for an official visit later this week.
King Charles has also made a return to public life as his treatment continues to progress well, visiting University College Hospital in London last week with Queen Camilla.
