Hard-working King Charles carried out an incredible 464 engagements in his first full year as monarch, official figures show.
And the vast majority of them occurred before he stepped away from public life for three months after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
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The king’s epic workload was revealed in an annual summary of royal finances.
The report covers April last year to the end of March, the first full year of Charles’ reign after he became king in September 2022 following the queen’s death.
It also reveals that Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate – the Princess of Wales – received 27,000 get well cards and letters from the public after their cancer scares were announced.
And this is in addition to the 31,000 messages welcoming the Coronation in May last year.
Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said in the review: “As His Majesty said: ‘Such gentle thoughts have been the greatest comfort and encouragement’.”
Summing up the royal year, Sir Michael added: “There were also times of personal challenge for the family.
“This has inevitably had an impact on the number and nature of engagements that have been planned – although let me say how encouraging it is to see the King back carrying out so many public duties and – more recently – the Princess equally well enough to take part in the Parade King’s Birthday Celebration and the Wimbledon men’s final.
“Behind the scenes, the work of the Royal Household continued apace, even throughout the last financial year, with Her Majesty still carrying out all her State functions, Her Majesty taking on a greater share of public engagements and her support teams adapting quickly adapt to new circumstances.”
In January, Charles underwent routine prostate surgery at a London hospital.
And in February, Buckingham Palace announced that an unspecified cancer had been discovered during treatment.
The 75-year-old king then stepped away from public duties, only returning at the beginning of May.
His first public visit was to a cancer treatment center at University College London Hospital.
Since then, the King has been on duty with Queen Camilla at the annual Trooping the Color ceremony, Royal Ascot and the State Opening of Parliament.
In June he was in Normandy, France, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Yesterday, Charles had an audience with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Asantehene – the ruler of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana – at Sandringham in Norfolk.
According to the annual review, the total number of engagements undertaken by the Royal Family last year fell to 2,300 – down from 2,710 the previous year.
But the cost of the trip rose from £3.9 million to £4.2 million.
The most expensive trip was the King and Queen’s visit to Kenya last autumn, costing £166,557.
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Charles also spent £22,498 on a charter flight from Aberdeen to Farnborough, Hants, in September so he could fly to France for a state visit the following day, which cost a further £117,942.
The Sovereign Grant, the annual amount the Royal Household takes from Crown Estate profits, remains static at £86.3 million for the third year in a row.
Last year, the royals had to dip into savings due to inflation.
In total, spending reached £107.5 million amid the UK’s cost of living crisis.
Accountants have withdrawn £20.7 million from reserves to help cover the rising costs of the ten-year £369 million renovation of Buckingham Palace.
The report also showed that £600,000 of the Sovereign Grant was spent on the Coronation and many of the events surrounding it.
Royal restoration
And more than 105,000 guests were invited to around 400 engagements at the royal palace – a ten percent increase on last year.
This is part of an ongoing effort to improve access to royal residences, with more receptions and parties being held at venues such as Buckingham Palace.
But the report also reveals that repair work on the Royal Family’s private bedrooms in the North Wing of the Palace has not yet begun – meaning the royals are unlikely to return to live there before the end of the decade.
The Royal Household also spent £16.6 million on restoring old buildings, including removing asbestos from Buckingham Palace stables and repairs to Windsor Castle.
Sir Michael revealed: “The leaky roof (at Windsor Castle) disappeared and the first solar panels appeared.”
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£23 million for William
PRINCE William received an annual income of £23.6 million from the Duchy of Cornwall.
The money will fund your philanthropic work.
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It comes from 52,250 hectares of land, £223 million of residential properties, £41 million of development land and £323 million of commercial properties managed by the Prince.
Private Secretary Ian Patrick said: “William and Kate supported the London Air Ambulance. They also made personal donations.”
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