Princess Anne has taken on an increased role while King Charles and Princess Kate have been sidelined by health issues. She has garnered widespread praise for handling a third of all royal engagements this year, marking a two percent rise from last year.
The Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, are currently on a royal tour in Canada, having also visited Sri Lanka and Namibia earlier this year. Admirers on social media have lauded Anne’s dedication, with one commenting: “I couldn’t admire or respect the Princess Royal any more than I already do. What an exceptional woman she is.” Another remarked: “This is true duty and loyalty to family. It’s unfortunate some fail to recognize this.” while a third simply said: “Thank goodness for The Princess Royal!”
Edward and Sophie have also developed into essential members of the Firm.
Princess Anne has always been a hard worker, with much of her efforts going unrecognized until now with the streamlined monarchy, according to one analyst who called Anne “remarkable.” She really is radiant. Princess Anne, who is 73 years old, is not slowing down; as of the end of April of this year, she had committed to 172 engagements, four more than she had at the same time previous year. Compared to the first four months of last year, she is one of the top three working royals whose workload has doubled.
Due to health issues and a smaller monarchy, Anne has been out and about almost twice as frequently as any other member of the Firm. Though they began from a lesser basis than Anne, the 78-year-old Duke of Gloucester and the 88-year-old Duke of Kent have also increased their workloads. The Court Circular has been closely monitored by Canadian journalist Patricia Treble since 2017. She observed: “Anne alone has accounted for 31.4 percent of all engagements by working royals in the first third of 2024.”
“Sophie has provided 11.31%, and Edward has contributed 15.3%. In 2024, Anne, Edward, and Sophie have collectively covered 58% of all engagements. Keeping up royal duties has also been greatly aided by Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie, especially when Prince William took time off to care for his family after Kate’s cancer diagnosis. But he’s back to his official work now, and he’s going to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly soon.
As his healing goes well, King Charles has made a comeback to public life. He and Queen Camilla recently visited University College Hospital in London.