While hundreds of column inches are dedicated every year to the work carried out by the Queen, Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry, there is often less said about the duties performed by the Princess Royal. But ironically it is the monarch's only daughter, Anne, who has proved to be the family's hardest worker for the fifth consecutive year. She had an impressive 613 engagements in 2007, according to figures released by Buckingham Palace.
The busy 57-year-old has clearly inherited a strong work ethic from her mother who continues to astound pundits who believed she would go into semi-retirement after her 80th birthday. Far from it. The Queen, now 81, has in fact taken on more engagements than in the previous three years and shows no sign of slowing down.
In 2007 she continued to undertake gruelling foreign trips including visits to Uganda and the US while also carrying out a total of 440 engagements.
Her husband Prince Philip, however, seems willing to ease up a little these days. The 86-year-old, who took the title as hardest working family member in 2002 with 578 engagements, cut his workload back to 380 official duties last year. Prince Edward, who recently celebrated the birth of his son James, has now taken over much of his father's workload with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
Thanks mainly to his role as the UK's special trade ambassador Prince Andrew was revealed to be the second hardest-working royal according to the annual analysis of the royal family's official engagements. The Duke of York completed 556 engagements while his brother, Prince Charles, had 498, two fewer than in 2006. The Duchess of Cornwall had a significantly reduced agenda of 193 outings in 2007, owing to her convalescence following an operation.
Among other royals Prince William slightly increased his official workload from 13 to 16 engagements, while younger brother Harry, also a full-time Army officer, carried out 12 engagements - double his 2006 commitments.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
