At 94, Philip does more engagements than William and Kate put together!
HE may be celebrating his 95th birthday this year, but Prince Philip is still putting the younger generation of royals to shame.
Figures show the Queen’s elderly husband undertook 217 official engagements in the UK last year – more than Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry put together. They clocked up just 198 between them at home.
Those figures don’t even include the 33 engagements that Philip conducted overseas. With visits to Malta and Germany, the Duke of Edinburgh undertook a staggering 250 official engagements in 2015.
The Queen was similarly productive in the year that she became the longest reigning monarch in British history. She undertook 341 engagements – 306 in the UK and 35 abroad.
Her engagements were down on the previous year, when she conducted 393, but still show a remarkable workload for a woman who will celebrate her 90th birthday in April.
And one senior aide stressed yesterday that while the figures, researched by long-time royal watcher Tim O’Donovan, were
‘Next year will be
even busier’
largely accurate, they did not reflect the amount of ‘behind the scenes preparation’ undertaken by the Queen and her husband.
Official engagements for all royals can include attending opening ceremonies, charity events, receptions, investitures and meetings.
Prince William took on a fraction of his grandparents’ workload, with 87 engagements in the UK and 35 abroad, as he focused on his day job as a helicopter pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service.
His wife, Kate, clocked up just 62 engagements, but has been on maternity leave after giving birth in May to her second child, Princess Charlotte.
Prince Harry carried out a total of 108 engagements, of which 59 were abroad, largely down to tours of New Zealand and South Africa.
A source close to the young royals said: ‘Next year will be even busier, not least with tours [William and Kate have announced a trip to India and Harry to the US] and the significant focus on celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday.’ The busiest member of the Royal Family was Princess Anne, who pipped her brother, Prince Charles, to the top spot for the first time in eight years with 456 engagements at home and 88 overseas. The heir to the throne undertook 380 in the UK and 147 abroad.
One member of the Royal Family who has travelled less, however, is Prince Andrew – dubbed Air Miles Andy for his love of foreign travel.
The prince undertook just four official overseas trips last year, in Switzerland, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam.
He has been heavily criticized for continuing his globe-trotting despite having stepped down from his post as a foreign trade envoy in 2011. Rise of Sophie, the Queen’s favourite – Pages 22&23