Prince William and Kate Middleton have increased their workload and become more visible than ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step down from royal duties.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have carried out more and more engagements as lockdown has continued to ease, practically doubling their workload, The Times reports.
While it was feared the Duke and Duchess of Sussex giving up their official duties might have led to some royal commitments not being met, William and Kate have actually been able to carry out more engagements beyond the video calls they have taken part in over the past year.
The couple have carried out 174 engagements this year between them. In comparison, in the same period two years ago — 2020 was obviously affected by the pandemic — they carried out a total of 93, just over half the number.
Royal commentator Dickie Arbiter said: “In the past they have always done a lot behind the scenes. Now they are doing a lot more out in the open. Last year they were hardly seen at all because of Covid. They are making up for lost time.”
Although the Queen, 95, has been keen to return to work following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have also been active, Prince William and his wife have worked the hardest, with a week-long tour of Scotland recently that was hailed as a tremendous success success.
“They have absolutely stormed Scotland,” royal author Penny Junor said.
“William has stepped up into a whole new league. Maybe it is in the aftermath of Harry leaving, and the Oprah interview, or maybe it is that now at the age he is he has more confidence, but I think William has upped his game.
"And Kate is just magnificent alongside him. They are a formidable pair.”
As well as spending the past week in Scotland, fulfilling 21 engagements in six days, there have been trips to Wolverhampton, Croydon, Durham and Rhyl.
But the Cambridges’ team are careful about recording everything they do in the Court Circular, regardless of whether it is a day trip to Wales or a phone call from Kensington Palace, which means the figures can be slightly misleading.
On March 17, for example, the Court Circular says the couple carried out eight engagements. But seven of the duke’s, were phone or video calls to health professionals.
Despite this it’s clear they have genuinely been much busier than usual.
They were all smiles while land yachting in St Andrews, making chapatis in Edinburgh and even handing out the popcorn at a drive-in at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
