It's a poorly kept secret that though life as a member of Britain's royal family is marked by luxury and glamour, it's also hard work, with most days packed with official appearances and behind-the-scenes public service. No one knows this better than Canadian journalist Patricia Treble. Every December, the author of the Write Royalty newsletter tallies up the total number of official acts that each member of the British royal family has embarked on that year, using for reference the Court Circular, which records of the institutional activities of King Charles III and beyond.
In 2024, according to data shared by The Sunday Times, Princess Anne took the top slot, with 474 official acts completed despite a horseback riding injury that spurred the cancellation of her long-anticipated trip to the Newfoundland National War Memorial. She was also named the hardest working royal in 2023, when she racked up 457 official engagements, as noted by The Telegraph.
But this year, Princess Anne has dropped to second place, though she was out and about even more in 2025, according to the list published by The Daily Mirror. The article, by Russell Myers and Jennifer Newton, based on Treble’s research with data up until December 18th, reveals that although the 75-year-old had 478 engagements, she was outpaced by her brother, 77-year-old King Charles. He carried out 532 official acts, netting him this crown in addition to that other one. [On the list published on December 31st by Treble, the total number adds to 533, as the King conducted one more engagement on December 19th].
That uptick in activity can be viewed as a sign that his health is indeed improving, a theory bolstered by an announcement the king made earlier this month. “Thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention, and adherence to doctors’ orders, my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year,” the king said in a prerecorded message that aired as part of Stand Up to Cancer’s 2025 broadcast on the UK network Channel 4. “This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years.”
Taking third place is Charles and Anne's 61-year-old younger brother, Prince Edward, with 313 acts. His wife, 60-year-old Duchess Sophie, is ranked fourth with 235 events in 2025. At age 78, Queen Camilla is the oldest royal on the list—but is also one of its busiest, with a fifth-place ranking for 228 official acts.
Prince William is the heir to the throne but the 43-year-old typically carries out fewer acts than other members of the royal family. This year, he was ranked seventh, with with 202 acts. His wife, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales is ranked tenth on this year's list, with 68 official acts. But even that number is an accomplishment worth noting for the 43-year-old royal, who announced last January that she was officially in remission following a 2024 cancer diagnosis. “As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal," she said then. As she returned to work, she said she would take a deliberate pace, in an effort to find “the right balance.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of journalist Patricia Treble, and incorrectly stated the number of royal engagements King Charles and the Princess of Wales have attended. This story has been updated.
