King Charles carried out a whopping 464 engagements in past year despite cancer diagnosis
HARD-working King Charles carried out an amazing 464 engagements in his first full year as monarch, official figures show.
And the vast majority of those came before he stepped away from public life for three months after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
The King’s epic workload was revealed in an annual rundown of the royal finances.
The report covers April last year until the end of March, the first full year of Charles’s reign after he became King in September 2022 following the death of the Queen.
It also reveals that Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate — the Princess of Wales — received 27,000 get-well cards and letters between them from the public after their cancer scares were announced.
And that is on top of 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 has said, ‘Such kind thoughts have been the greatest comfort and encouragement’.”
Summing up the royal year, Sir Michael added: “There were also moments of personal challenge for the family.
“This inevitably impacted on the number and nature of engagements that had been planned — though may I say how encouraging it is to see the King back performing so many public duties and — more recently — the Princess similarly well enough to join The King’s Birthday Parade and the men’s Wimbledon final.
“Behind the scenes, the work of the Royal Household continued apace, even throughout the latter course of the financial year, with His Majesty still performing his full State duties, Her Majesty taking on a greater share of public engagements, and their support teams adapting swiftly to the changing circumstances.”
In January, Charles underwent routine surgery on his prostate at a London hospital.
And in February, Buckingham Palace announced that an unspecified cancer had been discovered during the treatment.
The King, 75, then stepped away from public duties, only making his return at the start of May.
His first public outing was to a cancer treatment centre at University College London Hospital.
Since then, the King has been on duty with Queen Camilla at the annual Trooping the Colour 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 Kingdom of Ashanti in Ghana — at Sandringham in Norfolk.
According to the annual review, the number of engagements carried out by the Royal Family last year overall fell to 2,300 — down from 2,710 the year before.
But the cost of travel increased from £3.9million to £4.2million.
The most expensive trip was the King and Queen’s visit to Kenya last autumn, costing £166,557.
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 next day, which cost a further £117,942.
The Sovereign Grant, the annual amount the Royal Household takes from Crown Estate profits, remains static at £86.3million for the third year running.
Last year, the royals had to dip into savings due to inflation.
In all, spending came to £107.5million amid the UK’s cost of living crisis.
Accountants withdrew £20.7million from reserves to help cover rising costs of the £369million ten-year Buckingham Palace revamp.
The report also showed that £600,000 from 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 royal palace engagements — an increase of ten per cent on last year.
That is part of a continued drive to improve access to the royal residences, with more receptions and bashes being held at locations such as Buckingham Palace.
But the report also reveals that repair works on the Royal Family’s private rooms in the Palace’s North Wing have yet to start — meaning the royals are unlikely to move back in until close to the end of the decade.
The Royal Household also spent £16.6million on restoring old buildings including removing asbestos from Buckingham Palace Mews and repairs at Windsor Castle.
Sir Michael revealed: “Out went the leaking roof (at Windsor Castle) and in came the first solar panels.”
£23m for William
PRINCE William has received a £23.6million annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall.
The cash will fund his philanthropic work.
It comes from 52,250 hectares of land, £223million of residential property, £41m of development land and £323m of commercial property managed by the Prince.
Private Secretary Ian Patrick said: “William and Kate have supported the London Air Ambulance. They also made personal donations.”