Hard-working Princess Royal steps up to do the honours
The Queen’s daughter has taken on 13 investitures at Windsor Castle since July to help clear a backlog
THE Princess Royal has stepped into the breach to ensure those awarded honours during the pandemic are able to receive them in person.
The Queen’s daughter has taken on more duties for her mother than any other member of the Royal family.
The Princess, 71, has adjusted her diary to take on 13 investitures since July this year, aiming to clear a backlog of recipients by welcoming them to Windsor Castle in person.
Said to enjoy meeting the worthy members of the public honoured with awards including knighthoods or damehoods, OBEs, CBEs and MBEs, the Princess is aiming to work her way through expedited ceremonies to ensure everyone who is able to attend the Windsor Castle ceremony can do so.
Before the pandemic hit, the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge were undertaking more of the investiture ceremonies on behalf of the Queen, who has been doing them for decades.
Then, the Princess Royal contributed two or three a year among her other duties, which see her ranked among the hardest-working members of the family.
Since the summer, she has taken on significantly more investitures on behalf of the Queen than her brother and nephew, with the Prince of Wales doing six and the Duke of Cambridge three so far this year. Recipients have already spoken of their delight at seeing the Princess at the castle ceremonies, as part of the 368 engagements she has done so far this year despite the restrictions of Covid. Lorraine Kelly, the broadcaster, said it was “extra special” to receive the CBE from the Princess, adding: “I’ve always admired her. She works incredibly hard.”
Ian Cole, appointed OBE, praised the Princess as “most interested and knowledgeable” about his work in defence.
A palace source said that, like other members of the Royal family, the Princess “enjoys investitures and meeting the recipients”.
With smaller numbers of people able to attend the ceremonies and a backlog of those due to be honoured thanks to Covid-19, they added, the family had been doing “some diary management” to ensure people can be recognised properly.
So far this year, the Princess has notched up the most engagements for any single member of the family, beating the next busiest, the Prince of Wales who has also taken part in at least 360, by just a handful of events.
The Queen, who has endured the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, coronavirus isolation and a period of ill health, has still undertaken 186, with many on the telephone or video call.
The Earl of Wessex has completed 208 and his wife the Countess 151, with the Duchess of Cornwall undertaking 161 including several overseas tours once travel restrictions lifted.
The Duke of Cambridge has done 232, boosted by a series of back-to-back telephone calls during the pandemic lockdown at the beginning of the year.
The Duchess of Cambridge, who also did some home schooling of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in early 2021, completed 115. Around 30 of them were meetings for her “early years” project or with staff from the Royal Foundation.
The Princess Royal’s engagements are particularly diverse, from her responsibilities with the Blues and Royals to Save the Children and the International Olympic Committee.
On Friday, she represented the Queen at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as reviewing officer of the Sovereign’s Parade, inspecting the troops and presenting awards to officer cadets.