Being a member of the British royal family isn’t the easiest job on earth, if TV shows and movies provide accurate pictures. But how much do the royals work?
According to official records, prominent members of the royal family worked an average of 84.5 days this year, or about a third of the 253 working days in the U.K.
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Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter, Princess Anne, was the hardest-working royal for at least the third year in a row, putting in a total of 167 days.
Heir to the throne Prince Charles came in second with 125 days of official duties.
The 93-year-old queen herself worked 67 days, four more than in 2018.
The figures were compiled and published Monday by Britain’s Press Association. Details of the monarchy’s official engagements are recorded in the Court Circular, a daily list of the events attended by the queen and her family.
However, some royal family members carry out private engagements that support their public work, which may not be included in this list.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth poses, after recording her annual Christmas Day message in Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, Britain, in this undated pool picture released on December 24, 2019.
Steve Parsons/Pool via REUTERS
For instance, the queen, now in the 68th year of her reign, receives a red box of official correspondence every day no matter where she is in the world.
The member of the royal family who is second in line to inherit the throne, Prince William, worked 74 days in the past 12 months. His wife, Kate, worked 58 days.
The couple’s duties included a tour of Pakistan, supporting the queen during President Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. in June and spending time on their own charitable projects.
The nine most prominent members of the royal family (the queen, Charles, William, Kate, Anne, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan) worked 761 days put together.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attended a reception to celebrate the U.K. and South Africa’s important business and investment relationship.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
The amount of time senior royals spent working in 2019 may have been affected by this year being a little “bumpy” for the family, as the queen admitted in her televised Christmas day address to Britain.
Prince Philip, the queen’s 98-year-old husband, was involved in a car accident. Harry and Meghan spoke about their struggles living in the public eye. Prince Andrew gave a disastrous television interview about his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew worked 90 days this year before he retired from public duties following a overwhelming criticism after his interview on the BBC’s Newsnight program.
Meghan worked the fewest days, 31. She spent time on maternity leave following the birth in May of her and Harry’s first child, Archie.
© 2019 The Canadian Press
