Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, left, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. Photo / AP
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, left, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. Photo / AP
Prince Philip carried out nearly twice as many days of public engagements as the Duchess of Cambridge in the year he turned 95.
The Duke of Edinburgh put the younger members of the Royal Family to shame by carrying out official meetings and visits on 110 days of the year - almost one every three days.
By stark contrast his grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry trailed behind with 80 and 86 respectively, while Kate was on just 63 days.
Even the Queen, who celebrated her 90th birthday in April, undertook official duties on 80 days of the year.
Aides stress that William, 34, has a part-time role as a pilot with the East Anglia Air Ambulance, which sees him work on average 80 hours a month to 'balance' his flying with his royal duties.
And officials say Kate, 34, has always made clear that her priority is the couple's two children, Prince George, three, and 19-month-old Princess Charlotte.
Harry, 32, has been much lauded for his work with the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event for injured service personnel, which has enjoyed success both at home and globally. The prince quit the Army 18 months ago, and over the summer he took six weeks off to work on conservation projects in Africa.
His most recent foreign tour in the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen was a huge success - as was Kate and William's visit to Canada in September with their children - which will inevitably add to the pressure on the younger royals to step up to the plate.
The list of engagements carried out by senior royals in the official Court Circular shows the second generation of the family - Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward - spent nearly twice as many days on public engagements in 2016 as their younger counterparts.
The Queen's children clocked up an average of 137 days, compared to an average of 76 for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
The Princess Royal had the busiest 2016, with 179 days of engagements. Prince Charles was second on 139, with the Earl of Wessex on 118 and the Duke of York on 112.
Anne has a reputation as a hard-working royal and is frequently among those carrying out the most engagements. Her work ethic is said to be based on her belief that members of the Royal Family should earn their keep.
Britain's Prince Philip waves to the public as he leaves after attending a Christmas day church service in Sandringham, England. Photo / AP
Charles has been taking on an increasing number of duties from the ageing Queen. He also frequently packs in more engagements a day than any other royal. On his recent tour of the Middle East, he and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, undertook more than 50 engagements in just six days.
William found himself under fire in the spring not only for his low number of official engagements but also because he was seen not to be carrying his weight at work as a pilot, averaging around just 20 hours a week.
Britain's Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Photo / AP
Pictures of the prince and his family on a skiing trip in the Alps also provoked anger. But in a TV interview screened a few days after the royal couple arrived home to mark his grandmother's 90th birthday, William responded to the accusations of being 'workshy' by saying such criticisms were 'part of the job'.
He indicated he had been spending much of his time working behind the scenes on major projects, including a global wildlife initiative to help close smuggling routes and his Heads Together campaign to tackle stigma about mental health.
The Duke said: "These sorts of things take a lot of time. They take a lot of planning and a lot of knowledge building, a lot of conversations."
The poorly Queen was cheered up on Boxing Day by a visit from her granddaughter Zara Tindall, who had to miss celebrations at Sandringham on Christmas Day after suffering a miscarriage. Zara, 35, was accompanied by her husband Mike Tindall and their daughter Mia, two.
