An analysis of the Court Circular of 2025, the official record of royal engagements, has revealed which member of the Royal Family has completed the most official duties
The hardest-working member of the Royal Family has been revealed(Image: PA)
The King has been crowned the hardest-working royal of 2025, clocking up the most engagements of the year – despite his ongoing weekly cancer treatment. Charles, 77, carried out 532 engagements over the last 12 months, 50 more than his sister Princess Anne, who often takes the hardest-working title. It means out of the 2,458 official royal engagements in 2025, the King carried out almost a quarter (22 per cent) of them.
It comes in a year when the monarch has continued to have cancer treatment following his diagnosis almost two years ago. His engagements in 2025 have taken him up and down the country as well as on overseas visits to Italy, Canada and Poland.
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New analysis has revealed the King was the hardest-working royal of 2025(Image: PA)
The King stepped up his workload at the start of the year following positive progress with his cancer care, and that has continued, despite what a source described at the time as a “minor bump” of spending a short stay in hospital after experiencing temporary cancer treatment side effects in March.
Just last week, he shared the good news that in the New Year, his cancer treatment is being reduced, crediting early diagnosis, successful care and following “doctors’ orders”. The analysis of the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements, showed that 75-year-old Anne, despite working more days than her brother, carried out 478 duties in 2025.
The royal who carried out the third most engagements of 2025 was the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, 61, on 313, followed by his wife, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, 60, in fourth place on 235. Queen Camilla, 78, was fifth, having completed 228 engagements.
Princess Anne carried out 426 duties in 2025(Image: PA)
When it comes to the other working royals, the Duke of Gloucester came sixth in the ranking, carrying out 212 engagements, followed by heir to the throne Prince William, 43, on 202 engagements. The Duchess of Gloucester was eighth with 113 engagements, followed by the 90-year-old Duke of Kent on 77 engagements. As the Princess of Wales, 43, continued her gradual return to duties in 2025 following her cancer diagnosis and treatment, she has carried out 68 engagements since January 1.
The research, which includes all engagements up until December 18, has been compiled by royal expert Patricia Treble. She told the Mirror: “Considering he spent the entire year undergoing regular cancer treatment, the King set the pace when it comes to royal duty for the House of Windsor.
“There’s a common belief that Anne is the hardest-working royal. I beg to differ. Though the Princess Royal did the most days of work (186) in 2025, it was her big brother who did the largest number of engagements (532).
William and Kate both saw a jump in engagement over the past 12 months compared to last year (Image: Getty Images)
“The three royal siblings – Charles, Anne, and Edward – dominate the royal work year. They are the only royals to have done more than 300 engagements each. Indeed, Charles is the only one in the 500s (532, as of Dec 18), Anne is the only royal in the 400s (478) and Edward is the only in the 300s (313).”
The analysis also looked at the overall number of engagements carried out by the royals in 2025 compared to 2024, with overall duties up 22 per cent from 2,001 last year.
The four most senior royals – the King and Queen and Prince and Princess of Wales – all saw their workloads jump this past year, with Charles’ engagements up 49 per cent year-on-year, William’s up 45 per cent and Camilla’s up 33 per cent. In particular, the Princess of Wales upped her workload from 13 engagements in 2024 to 68 in 2025 – a 423 per cent increase.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, pictured in Japan, carried out the most engagements abroad this year(Image: PA)
Ms Treble added: “Obviously, 2024 was unusual as two of the four most senior royals had surgery and then cancer treatment, meaning that not only did they undertake fewer engagements than usual, but the workloads of their spouses were also affected.
“This year, it felt at times like the royals were making up for lost time. They had three state visits at Windsor Castle, one more than usual. And in May, Charles and Camilla, in their roles as King and Queen of Canada, travelled more than 3,400 miles for a 24-hour visit to Ottawa to publicly defend Canada’s sovereignty in the face of Donald Trump ’s bellicose threats.
“The 2,446 engagements in 2025 are the most done by the working royals since 2022, when 12 working royals, including the late Queen and Princess Alexandra, did 2,667 engagements.”
When it comes to engagements abroad, leading the way were the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, with Edward carrying out 130 duties in 13 countries and Sophie 107 in 13 countries. Anne was third having done 102 engagements in 14 countries.
William was fifth in the ranking, carrying out 36 engagements in five countries, while Kate, who continues her recovery from cancer treatment, has not yet travelled abroad for work since her diagnosis.
Meanwhile, the analysis also looked at the average age of the core 10 working royals in 2025, which is 68.7 years old. Ms Treble explained: “Separate out the younger royals from the data, and it’s clear that the House of Windsor is relying on a workforce that is still putting in long hours even though they are an average of 15 years beyond the usual age of retirement.”
Royals by number of engagements in 2025 (as of December 18):
1. King Charles – 532
2. Princess Anne – 478
3. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh – 313
4. Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh – 235
5. Queen Camilla – 228
6. Duke of Gloucester – 212
7. Prince William – 202
8. Duchess of Gloucester – 113
9. Duke of Kent – 77
10. Princess of Wales – 68
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