Who has The Least Public / Official Engagements?

[Meraude]

The Swedish royal family is very active in initiating events. The schedule of Prince Daniel has been very much initiated by the court in picking places and businesses he has visited. The royal couple's August travel around Sweden was announced and places of interest requested from all regions. The royal family does not sit back and wait for an invitation.

That the court have initiated a schedule for Daniel (the same way they did for Victoria earlier) to learn to know the Swedish society and Swedish businesses, and that the court have created a new "Eriksgata" for the king's 40 years as monarch are special events, to introduce a new member of the family in his future role or to celebrate a jubilee. I don't think the court would start calling businesses and events to fill an empty weekly royal schedule unless it's something the royal really wants to participate in and haven't got an invitation.

 

[polyesco]

I feel the same. Most of the posters are comparing apples with oranges anyway.

Basically 2 royals in Monaco looking after a population of 36,371; 4-6 royals in Denmark looking after 5.5m and c.13-14 royals in the UK looking after 62.6 million. You just can't make comparisons.

It would also be a mistake to judge who is working harder by those you see. The press never mention Prince Andrew but yesterday he carried out 3 engagements. In fact all fulltime members of the royal family carried out engagements yesterday. Only Charles, Camilla and William made the news.

very good point.
also some royals (usually females) get more attention and press.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Look back at pages from years ago and you will see people saying Charles and Camilla are lazy. That just made me laugh. It does appear that those who are regarded as lazy are simply just not liked by the person calling them that. The only royals in this thread that I would question as not working enough are Kate and Carl Philip.

 

[nascarlucy]

Anyone who is lazy royal or non-royal tries to get out of things and only does what they have to do. They don't go the extra mile.

Kate right now has health issues which would make working unrealistic or risky.

 

[Iluvbertie]

As many of you know I have been keeping a personal count of the BRF CC this year - for fun, to see how much is done in the Jubilee year and to compare my figures with Tim Donovan at the end of the year to see how far out I am so...

before I started this count I knew that Charles and Anne were the hardest working, in terms of number of engagements done in Britain, that The Queen and Philip had scaled back, that Andrew and Edward did some things - but thought they were probably around 200 or so each, that Sophie and Camilla did the occasional appearance and that The Duke of Kent was the hardest working of The Queen's cousins followed by his sister.

What I have had confirmed this year is that Charles and Anne are two of the top three in terms of number of engagements - although The Queen is second - probably a blip due to the Jubilee (or my counting of engagements is way off), that Andrew and Edward actually do quite a lot, that Sophie and Camilla also do quite a lot and that The Duke of Gloucester actually does a lot more than the Kents.

My point is that press reports, and thus perspectives of which royals are working hard and which aren't, actually is skewed. William and Kate get pages of coverage every time they do anything while Andrew and Edward rarely get any coverage and yet they do way more than William and Kate - just looking at press coverage is very misleading as to the amount of work being done and what type of work it is as well e.g. chairing a meeting would require a lot more preparation than simply accompanying a more senior royal on a tour where all you have to do is look nice (nothing wrong with that of course) - both the meeting and the accompanying the more senior royal counts as one engagement but are they truly comparable in terms of amount of work involved?

 

[cepe]

As this was a general royal question - not specifically about BRF - can anyone tell me if the other royal families have the quivalent of the royal circular and a tally of the amount of work other RF's do?

Also defining laziness isnt just a question of the amount of work a person does but a measure against expectations. Full time royals should be out there; part time royals are out there sometimes. Cannot compare.

 

[AnnEliza]

...What I have had confirmed this year is that Charles and Anne are two of the top three in terms of number of engagements - although The Queen is second - probably a blip due to the Jubilee (or my counting of engagements is way off), that Andrew and Edward actually do quite a lot, that Sophie and Camilla also do quite a lot and that The Duke of Gloucester actually does a lot more than the Kents...

Yes, I was quite impressed when I read your posts of how many engagements Andrew and Edward do.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Anyone who is lazy royal or non-royal tries to get out of things and only does what they have to do. They don't go the extra mile.

Kate right now has health issues which would make working unrealistic or risky.

And what about the other 20 months she had been married? I am not saying Kate is lazy I'm saying I understand why people see her and CP as being lazy.

 

[Warren]

Thread title changed.

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

I'm not sure what 'lazy' means but Catherine sure as heck isn't lazy no matter what royal standards you judge her by.

Catherine is married to a grandson of the current Queen,it was announced on the their very engagement day that the couple would not be undertaking full-time 'royal duties'until Williams military career is over. Who would expect Catherine to be a 'working' royal when he husband is not?

But lets come to to what Catherine actually does do , she is patron to 4 very important and personal charities that she picked herself and believes ins.
As a 'third' of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry , Catherine is helping raise and dispense millions £ each year to dozens of worthy organizations and causes.

I think she is doing exactly what is expected of someone married to a high-profile but still junior member of the BRF.

W&C are focused on their married lives for the first couple of years and all the while work at their individual charities and Royal Foundation. I would judge her differently if she was married to a Crown Prince or even one of the Queens sons but as she is not, the workload she undertakes is more than enough IMO.

 

[Nice Nofret]

Her prime duties in the first years of marriage are:
- to adapt to royal live by undertaking some very well vetted and rehearsed official duties;
- to have children
- to learn about her job and making her marriage work and William happy.

It isn't in the interest of the royal family that they are exposed more than necessary, because Charles will be King first, and William will be (by all probability) be for a long time The Prince of Wales ... his face shouldn't wear off before his time ...on a PR point of view, it is always good to have a joker in your hand, when the next crisis comes up

But the main reason is (in my view) that the Queen loved her married years before her accession so much, that she wishes them to have also some freedom and as much unshackled a life as is possible in their position.

 

[cinrit]

Why is Kate's activity level (engagements undertaken), when she has been in the Royal Family for not quite two years, compared to the activity level of Royals who have been in the Royal Family much longer? As a matter of fact, why is William, who has been an adult in the Royal Family, compared the same way, to Royals who have been working Royals much longer? Why not compare apples to apples, and compare the number of engagements of everyone at the same level of seniority (not Seniority) in the family?

 

[cepe]

Why compare at all? It isn't a competition. As Iluvbertie said when she started compiling the list of royal engagements - its not a competitive process. The Princess Royal has been a full time royal since she was 18 - over 40 years (and allowing some time for 3-day eventing). That is 40 years of growing her patronages and developing interests. Expecting the same level from a new royal is unrealistic. I think cinrit makes a good point.

The court circular gives actual engagements. It doesn't report the meetings, briefings, research, admin, letter writing, wardrobe planning, etc., that goes with royal duties. None of us can go by just what is reported.

 

[Meraude]

Why is Kate's activity level (engagements undertaken), when she has been in the Royal Family for not quite two years, compared to the activity level of Royals who have been in the Royal Family much longer?

It's perhaps not compared to members of the royal family who have been around for a long time, but to the three latest females married into the royal family (Diana, Sarah and Sophie) and how quickly they were pushed into undertaking royal duties, especially Diana but also Sarah, became full-time royals within months after their weddings. Maybe Catherine shouldn't be doing as much as Diana did shortly after her wedding, but she could be doing more than she have done until now.

 

[cepe]

Sophie didn't become a full time royal for a number of years. She and Edward wanted to work outside of the royal family but it just didn't please anyone. the media decided that they were using their royal connections and it gave them an unfair advantage. But I think they have found their way now and do a great, if generally unsung, job.

Pushing Diana and Sarah into royal duties early was a failure and I think that is generally accepted.

So .....why do some people compare Catherine adversely against these 3? Why would anyone want to repeat the errors of the past?

 

[miche]

From what I've read Diana did around 150 engagement the first two years of Marriage. That about the same amount that Kate has done. Didn't the media and people used to get on Sarah cases because she would follow Andrew around when he was in the navy.

Didn't Sophie become a full time royal after Louise was born?

 

[Burzg]

Prince Hashim of Jordan

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

To me this entire concept of 'royal duties' and which members are doing 'more' of them is pretty flimsy.
So many variables go into which royals perform what roles and at what point in their royal careers.
When people want to criticise Catherine they throw up the vague 'royal duties' chestnut are say she isn't doing enough.
I know for a fact if Catherine was patron of a hundred charities she would still be bashed by these same people.
The Queen's children carry out hundreds and hundreds of engagements on her behalf every year as they should. Nothing is being neglected by William or Harry or Catherine having a spot of normalcy before the tsunami begins when their military careers end and they become the 'next' generation of royals.

The oddest part for me is, some go on as if William and Catherine broke a promise on their engagement day and that they lied.
Before their announcement, William was a grandson of the Queen serving full-time in the RAF and undertaking duties on behalf of his grandmother when asked, so why would any of that change because he got engaged?
Go back and read the announcement in the DM on the day of their engagement. "The couple will live in Wales while William finishes his RAF career and carrying out royal duties on a part-time basis. The couple have the full support of both Prince Charles and the Queen"
Seems pretty straightforward to me.

 

[maria-olivia]

Queen Paola at least once a week.
NO State Visit from and to Belgium anymore.

 

[AnnEliza]

I'm not sure what 'lazy' means but Catherine sure as heck isn't lazy no matter what royal standards you judge her by.

Catherine is married to a grandson of the current Queen,it was announced on the their very engagement day that the couple would not be undertaking full-time 'royal duties'until Williams military career is over. Who would expect Catherine to be a 'working' royal when he husband is not?

But lets come to to what Catherine actually does do , she is patron to 4 very important and personal charities that she picked herself and believes ins.
As a 'third' of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry , Catherine is helping raise and dispense millions £ each year to dozens of worthy organizations and causes.

I think she is doing exactly what is expected of someone married to a high-profile but still junior member of the BRF.

W&C are focused on their married lives for the first couple of years and all the while work at their individual charities and Royal Foundation. I would judge her differently if she was married to a Crown Prince or even one of the Queens sons but as she is not, the workload she undertakes is more than enough IMO.

Good post -- I agree. Especially since she is starting a family, public life is not her primary duty yet -- it will be increasingly so for the rest of her life.

 

[Rice]

Has the lack of state visits to/from Belgium been due to the fact there were government issues for so long? Would be nice to see a tiara event in Belgium!