Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, was the busiest member of the Royal Family last year, according to a survey of official engagements.

She carried out 642 engagements at home and abroad, compared with 600 by the Queen.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who was busiest in 1996, came third in 1997 with 532 engagements, just ahead of the Prince of Wales, who attended 513 official functions.

The Royal Family's total of 3,820 engagements at home and overseas showed an increase of 108 from last year, according to the survey.

The figures were compiled by retired insurance broker, Tim O'Donovan, from Datchet in Berkshire.

He produces the survey by totalling the announcements from the Court Circular. This year, his results have been published in The Times.

He told the newspaper: "This just shows how hard working the Royal Family really are.

"Although they are all getting older, they are still very busy. The Queen Mother, at 97, carried out more engagements despite her continuing health problems.

"The Duke of York was able to carry out more engagements, 263, because he is now doing a desk job at the Ministry of Defence so is more available.

"Those who argue for a smaller Royal Family should look at the contribution made by the Queen's sister and her cousins with 41% of the engagements in support of charities."
 

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