Edward next working royal to mind the gap

Duke of Edinburgh to travel from Leatherhead to Leeds as he helps family make up the numbers

FIRST it was the Princess Royal, hailed as saviour of the Royal family as she carried the burden of public duty in the wake of the King’s cancer diagnosis and the Princess of Wales’s operation.

Then came the Queen, stepping up for a series of engagements to keep the show on the road.

Ready for his turn in the spotlight this week is the Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Edward will travel from Leatherhead to Leeds in the coming days for eight engagements, as the Royal family faces another week of questions and concern over its depleted public-facing ranks.

The Duke will be extra visible in the lead up to the celebrations for his 60th birthday on Sunday, March 10.

His diary will largely be designed around his support for the arts, with engagements at a theatre, a community radio station and the ballet.

His wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh, will join him for a Friday in Leeds, with an outing to see a performance of Romeo and Juliet, as they mix the business of supporting the Northern Ballet and pleasure.

His birthday is thought to be a useful occasion to highlight his work for the Royal family, and how he is continuing his late father’s legacy.

Last year, on his 59th birthday, the King conferred the title of the Duke of Edinburgh on him, in line with the late Queen and Prince Philip’s wishes.

This week, the Duke’s workload will be surpassed only by his elder sister, the Princess Royal, who will undertake nine engagements.

The Queen, 76, is confirmed to be going on a “long-scheduled” holiday.

According to The Sun, she is flying overseas for a “sunshine break”. She has undertaken 13 official engagements since the King’s cancer diagnosis was announced on Feb 5.

The King has filmed a Commonwealth Day message to be shown on March 11, his first broadcast since his cancer diagnosis. The theme of this year’s Westminster Abbey service is “One Resilient Common Future”.

The Prince of Wales will also hold engagements later in the week. He was said to be planning to be “out and about” while his wife remains at home recovering from abdominal surgery.

Last week, he missed a memorial for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, for “personal” reasons, but went on to speak out about anti-semitism at a synagogue and spent St David’s Day in Wales. The Princess is not due back at work for some weeks.

The Royal family will next assemble en masse for the Commonwealth Day service on March 13.