King Charles III carried out official engagements on 175 days in the past 12 months, an increase on previous years, even after Buckingham Palace disclosed in February 2024 that he was receiving treatment for a form of cancer, according to an analysis of the Court Circular by the PA news agency.
The tally of engagements is higher than the 133 days recorded in the previous year and the 161 days logged in the first year of his reign. The past 12 months also saw the King travel further from the UK than at any time since his accession, undertaking long-haul and regional visits while continuing formal audiences and public duties.
International travel in the period included a trip to Australia and attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October 2024, a two-day visit to Canada in May 2025 during which he opened the current session of Parliament, and a visit to Poland on January 27, 2025, for events marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In April 2025 he became the first British monarch to address the Italian parliament, following earlier historic addresses to the French senate and the German Bundestag in 2023.
Domestic engagements took the King across the United Kingdom to locations ranging from Lossiemouth in north Scotland and Banbridge in County Down to coastal Deal in Kent, as well as to major cities including Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Durham, Edinburgh and Middlesbrough. One engagement saw him visit the crew of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in the English Channel ahead of the ship’s deployment to Japan.
The analysis shows the King held 22 formal audiences with the prime minister over the year, the same number as in his second year on the throne and four fewer than in his first. The past 12 months were the first of his reign not to include a change of prime minister; the succession from Liz Truss to Rishi Sunak took place on Oct. 25, 2022, and from Mr. Sunak to Sir Keir Starmer on July 5, 2024, both events occurring earlier in the reign.
Charles reached the 1,000th day of his reign during the period and marked his 20th wedding anniversary with Queen Camilla. He continued to hold private and public audiences with senior figures from charities, businesses and international delegations, greeting leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June 2025 and French President Emmanuel Macron in July.
Buckingham Palace’s announcement of the King’s diagnosis in February 2024 said he had been receiving regular treatment; the Court Circular record indicates he continued to undertake many official duties, including one-to-one audiences, across the months following that disclosure. The PA compilation noted some official engagements took place during March and April 2024 when the King was largely out of public view.
The Court Circular analysis also ranked other senior royals by engagements. The Princess Royal remains the most active, with 189 days of official duties in the past year. The Duke of Edinburgh is recorded on 129 days, the Duchess of Edinburgh on 117, the Prince of Wales on 107 and the Princess of Wales on 37.
The figures reported by PA and drawn from the Court Circular provide a record of the royal household’s public schedule and show an intensification of travel and public-facing work by the sovereign over the latest 12-month period, even as he underwent medical treatment and navigated the ongoing responsibilities of head of state following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022.