Hardest working royal of 2024 revealed after tumultuous year for Charles, Kate and William

3 days ago 12

The Princess Royal has been crowned the hardest working member of 'the Firm' for the fourth year in a row.

Princess Anne, 74, has proven she is not shy of hard work and has carried out a whopping 217 public engagements this year so far. The King's younger sister has long been known as a hard grafter and the new royal league table confirms this.

Anne carried out 212 royal engagements in 2023 but this year she has stepped up to the plate to support the King and the Princess of Wales, who have both been battling cancer.

The only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth's public engagements have increased by 2.4 per cent from 2023 and November looks set to be her busiest month yet, with an impressive 28 engagements taking place.

King Charles announced he had cancer in February and, just a month later, Kate Middleton revealed her own battle with the disease in a video message. Their treatment has seen the pair have to cut down on their duties.

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But the King hasn't slowed down too much. The royal league table showed that he is still sitting in second place with an impressive 186 public duties carried out this year. Kate is sitting in tenth place on the table, having attended 11 engagements despite her illness.

October was the King’s busiest month with 26 engagements, and his quietest month is set to be December, with just one royal engagement planned so far.

Princess Anne has managed to take the top spot despite having a spell in hospital after an accident. In June she was admitted to hospital with a minor head injury which was thought to have been caused by a horse.

The keen equestrian was at her Gatscombe Park estate in Gloucestershire when it happened. Her medical team suggested the injury was consistent with the type of impact from a horse's legs or head.

The poll looked at the Royal Court Circular to determine which of the royals had worked the hardest this year. The data from SEO agency Reboot Online analysed the number of engagements by each member from January 1.

The third hardest working royal was Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, the late Queen's cousin, who carried out 126 engagements. Even though Prince Richard attended 91 fewer royal engagements than Princess Anne in first place, he is the royal with the largest increase in royal engagements between 2023 and 2024, rising by 11.5% from 113 in 2023 to 126 in 2024.

The King's youngest brother Prince Edward was in fourth spot with 124 and his wife, Sophie Wessex, often referred to as the late Queen's favourite daughter in law, was just behind her husband in the poll with 108 engagements attended.

Queen Camilla carried out 95 while the Prince of Wales was eighth in the table with 71 engagements, that was a drop of 35% on last year's number of 110.

Princess Anne's accolade comes just days after she was dubbed as the 'power behind the throne' in a Channel Five documentary which charted her life and her devotion to duty.