Prince William worked on fewer days than his cancer-stricken father in 2024 while pocketing a salary of almost $30 million, according to Regalrumination.com analysis of the Court Circular.

The Prince of Wales was recorded undertaking engagements on 71 days, while worked on 118 days in 2024, the royal family’s official diary shows.

The mismatch comes at a time when has been under added pressure due to a significant spike in his income since becoming the next in line to the throne.

William took over control of property portfolio the Duchy of Cornwall when died and it gave him an annual income of £23.6 million ($30 million) in the year up to April 2024. Anti-monarchy campaign group Republic argues that the estate should be taken into public ownership and used to fund schools, hospitals and other public services.

King Charles’ Workload During Cancer Treatment in 2024

Charles was admitted to The London Clinic in January for a routine procedure on an enlarged prostate during which doctors identified an additional issue. He was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer after tests.

The king began chemotherapy in early February and reduced his workload, but continued to have meetings in person at royal residences.

During this period, he undertook two engagements in January, three in February, 13 in March and four in April, the last of which was his return to community visits.

While continuing his treatment, the king increased his workload, conducting 50 engagements over May, June and July, including high profile events like the State Opening of Parliament, Trooping the Colour and commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France.

He continued meetings, but at a slower pace in August, which the royals traditionally spend holidaying at Balmoral in Scotland, and in September.

In October, Charles and Queen Camilla braved a long haul flight to Australia, his first visit to a country outside Britain that recognizes him as king since his succession in 2022. They went to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on the same trip.

November was marked by a week of remembrance, culminating in the annual Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in London, though he also found time for the Gladiator II premiere.

In total, the court circular recorded 16 days of in-person meetings in October and 15 in November.

Prince William’s Workload in 2024

Prince William also took time off work in the early part of the year after Princess Kate had abdominal surgery in January, but pressure for his return grew after the king’s diagnosis in February.

He carried out one day of engagements in January, four in February, six in March and four in April.

William increased the pace in May and June, when he did 10 and 13, including his part in the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings and Trooping the Colour.

He dropping back to five in July and had no official meetings in August, when the Wales family took time out to enjoy their summer holiday.

In September, he had official meetings on seven days, compared to eight in October and 13 in November, when he took his Earthshot Prize ceremony to Cape Town, South Africa.

Analysis

Regalrumination.com has excluded telephone calls from the calculations, but included all days that the royals held in-person meetings, even if they were at royal residences.

We did not include attendance at weekly church services, but we did include William’s attendance at a number of soccer matches recorded in the Court Circular since he is the president of English football’s governing body, the FA.

The prince has spoken a number of times now about what he calls “impact philanthropy,” which is charity work that aims to make a significant difference in society.

“I can only describe what I’m trying to do, and that’s I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation,” he told the . “It’s more about impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening, and helping people. And I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impacts people’s lives. And I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.”

In that respect, he might well argue that the true benefit of a project like Earthshot cannot be properly measured by the number of engagements recorded in the Court Circular.

However, this perspective is a matter for debate and Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers, has been among those to suggest William’s approach to his father’s as he suggests.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were famous for their simple approach to monarchy, visiting communities all over Britain and meeting enough people that by the time of her death, 30 percent of the country had seen her in person.

Charles then carved out a more elaborate role as heir to the throne focusing on major projects like the Prince’s Trust, which seeks to boost employment opportunities for young people.

However, he maintained a significant level of public visits and engagements, ensuring he is always regarded among the hardest working royals, jockeying for position with Princess Anne.

Prince William and took a slightly different approach, performing fewer engagements, but aiming to have a bigger impact.

The Duke of Sussex outlined his own frustration with the Court Circular in his book, Spare: “The Court Circular was an ancient document, but it had lately morphed into a circular firing squad.

“It didn’t create the feelings of competitiveness that ran in my family, but it amplified them, weaponized them.

“Though none of us ever spoke about the Court Circular directly, or mentioned it by name, that only created more tension under the surface, which built invisibly as the last day of the calendar year approached.

“Certain family members had become obsessed, feverishly striving to have the highest number of official engagements recorded in the Circular each year, no matter what, and they’d succeeded largely by including things that weren’t, strictly speaking, engagements, recording public interactions that were mere blips, the kinds of things Willy and I wouldn’t dream of including.”

While much of Prince Harry’s account serves as a defense of William too, some of his perspective in fact unwittingly heaps further pressure on his older brother: “The main reason the Court Circular was a joke, a scam, was that none of us was deciding in a vacuum how much work to do.

“Granny or Pa decided, by way of how much support (money) they allocated to our work. Money determined all. In the case of Willy and me, Pa was the sole decider.

“It was he alone who controlled our funds; we could only do what we could do with whatever resources and budget we got from him.”

At the time that Harry’s referring to, Charles bankrolled Harry and William to the tune of £4.5 million in total, using money from the Duchy of Cornwall.

Now, William controls the Duchy, but he does not appear to have stepped up his diary of public engagements.

Not even in a year when there was an active public debate about how short staffed the royal family was, owing to Charles and Kate’s health problems.

Williams Brown is Regalrumination.com‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X (formerly ) at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com‘s .

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