Understand | The heavy burdens of British royalty

The recent health problems of King Charles III and Princess of Wales Kate Middleton translate into heavier tasks for other members of the British royal family. But exactly what is the scale of these tasks and these public commitments? The Press talks about it with Marc Laurendeau.

Anne, champion of commitments

According to Marc Laurendeau, an analyst of the monarchy for 20 years, it is in the British press that we gather the most information on the commitments of the British family. “Not much has been written about it,” he says, while in the English newspapers there is “a lot of interest in it.” Mr. Laurendeau directs us to a daily article The Telegraph signed by Patrick Sawer and Hannah Furness and published on December 9, 2023. Its title? “Hardest working royals of 2023 revealed”. We learn from the supporting table that Princess Anne, daughter of Elizabeth II and sister of Charles III, is the champion of public commitments with 457 mandates in 12 months. His brother Charles comes in second with 425 appearances. “Anne is very dedicated to these meetings, these inaugurations,” says Mr. Laurendeau. Very valiantly, she does a lot. We also saw, at the time of the Queen’s funeral, that it was she who traveled back and forth between Scotland and England to represent the royal family. She was very active and she remained so. » Moreover, he adds, Princess Anne gives good advice to her brother.

Read the article “Hardest working royals of 2023 revealed”

Commitments of all kinds

Another article retained by Mr. Laurendeau, signed by James Beal and published on December 31, 2023 in The Times, is informative because it details visits by category: official visits, ceremonies, sports, charitable events, receptions, lunches, banquets, etc. Without forgetting international commitments. These figures, different from those of Telegraph, nevertheless show the magnitude of the task. “My general perception is that it’s a big job! Would you do 450 events per year? I wouldn’t do it,” says Marc Laurendeau, laughing. For each of these events, members of royalty must prepare. “They know the people we are going to introduce to them, they know the goals of the associations they are going to sponsor. They are conscientious and are briefed on all that,” continues Mr. Laurendeau. The king, who meets the prime minister every week, must also be aware of current events and parliamentary activities. All this is to say that with King Charles and Princess Kate on the outs, Prince Andrew in disgrace and aging members of the royal family, the task is heavier for those called to take over, notably Prince William. “They are lacking human resources,” summarizes Marc Laurendeau.

Read the article “Number of royal engagements fell in 2023 as family takes on less” (in English – subscription required)

The regrets of a sovereign

We get along ! Ribbon cuttings, handshakes and chrysanthemum unveilings aren’t very cinematic. That doesn’t make for good TV. But it happens that events, particularly tragic ones, constitute the exception. This is what happened following the catastrophic debris flow that occurred on October 21, 1966 in Aberfan, a mining town in Wales, which killed 144 people, including 116 children. Initially, Queen Elizabeth II refused to go there, which created an uproar. She changed her mind and was considerably affected by this human drama. So much so that in subsequent years, she revisited Aberfan more often than any other member of the royal family, it is said at the end of episode 3 of the third season of the series. The Crown (Netflix). Some, among those who know royalty, believe that the queen’s first refusal constituted the “greatest regret” of her reign.

Visit the series page The Crown on Netflix

The history of royal tours of Canada

Members of the royal family also have overseas commitments, particularly in Commonwealth countries. The government of Canada also rigorously maintains a register of all royal visits to the country since… 1786. Whether they are made by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince (and now King) Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Queen Mother and many others, all visits are listed and detailed. For the record, we will remember that, in Canada alone, Her Majesty Elizabeth II made 22 visits as Queen, in addition to making 9 stopovers in the country. Another page from the Canadian government tells us that the Queen was the godmother of some 600 organizations, including 36 in Canada.

Visit the Government of Canada’s “Past Royal Tours” page

Visit the page dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II by the Government of Canada

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Our sources: Government of Canada, National Philanthropic Trust UK, royal. uk, Business Insider, magazine Geo

Who is Marc Laurendeau?

• A graduate in law and political science (master’s degree) from the University of Montreal, Marc Laurendeau had a career as a comedian within the quartet Les Cyniques in the 1960s and 1970s.
• In 1973, Marc Laurendeau began a career in journalism. He will work daily Montreal-Morning (chief editorialist), at CKAC, at The Press (political analyst) and at Radio-Canada. He is also a documentary filmmaker.
• Having been interested in British royalty for years, he defines himself as an analyst of the monarchy. Since 2003 on the RDI channel, he has covered royal visits to Canada and other major royal events (weddings, deaths, coronations).