The royals are working less right now. A lot less.
The royals are working less right now. A lot less.
A combo of illness and age has dramatically reduced the visibility of the royals. They're trying to figure out workarounds.
The year is still young, but the very earliest of indications points to another tumultuous year when it comes to analyzing royal work data. Overall, the 11 working royals undertook 32 percent fewer engagements in January and February than they did in the same two months of 2023.
A drop was expected, but perhaps not such a plunge.
Sure, the number of senior working royals has been dramatically shrunk, albeit temporarily (we hope). It’s not been a great start to the year.
With Kate, Princess of Wales, not set to undertake engagements until after Easter (March 31) due to her recovery from abdominal surgery in January, her husband on a reduced schedule due to family commitments, and King Charles III undergoing treatment for cancer, it’s been Queen Camilla who has shouldered the most important duties, including those of her husband.
It was Queen Camilla who led the royal family at the service of thanksgiving for the late King Constantine of Greece, presented Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education at Buckingham Palace, and battled bad weather to attend a charity musical event in Salisbury.
Other working royals have stepped up to fill the unexpected vacuum. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester together did 55 percent more engagements than last year, by my analysis of the Court Circular, which documents all official engagements. And Prince Edward did more engagements in the first two months of this year than in any of the previous seven years except 2018, when he did a record 471 engagements in the year.
As we’ve only got two months of data, I’ve grouped the working royals into four categories to more easily see trends:
King Charles III and Queen Camilla
Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales
Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra of Kent
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