Kate Middleton Criticized for Working Just 90 Engagements This Year

Kate Middleton, Britain's new Princess of Wales, is facing criticism as new data claims she has been the ninth-hardest-working royal of 2022, behind elderly royal relations such as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Data compiled by marketing analyser Reboot SEO Company, which assessed entries in the court circular—the official published list of royal engagements—shows that Princess Anne undertook the most work in 2022, with 214 engagements, followed by her brother, King Charles III, who undertook 181.

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, ranked in third and fourth positions with 143 and 138 respective engagements, while Prince William sits in fifth place having undertaken 126.

The data set lists Kate as having undertaken 90 public engagements, which when compared to the annual data published by The Times of London in 2021, would have her down 33 engagements from last year.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, working royals who are first cousins to Queen Elizabeth II, undertook 100 and 94 engagements, respectively, over the course of the year, despite both being in their seventies.

Data compiled by Reboot spanned January to December 2022, though it isn't known exactly how entries from the court circular were collated or what was included.

Online discourse about the Reboot figures began when royal biographer Omid Scobie shared them on Twitter, writing: "According to @rebootdigitalpr, who analysed entries on the Court Circular, this is how many official engagements each working member of the Royal Family carried out in 2022..."

A number of commenters picked out the Prince and Princess of Wales' figures as noticeably lower than expected.

"It's just funny to me (not really) how the British press will keep on bashing #HarryandMeghan, while portraying Prince William and Kate as the 'hardworking' dutiful royals, when they barely work at all," posted one Twitter user.

"Does this include, Zoom and funeral coz #KateMiddleton 90 engagements in one year for a future queen is funny," wrote another, with a further adding: "365 days in a year. Side eyeing anyone with less than 100 besides the two elderly part time working Royals: Kate. Also, side eyeing those with below 150 if they're full time working Royals: William, Camilla, Edward & Sophie. Pandemic restrictions excuse can't be use anymore."

Despite the figures shown, 2022 has been a year of prominent royal events for Kate, William and the rest of the royal family.

In March, while still Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate undertook a seven-day tour of the Caribbean, which included visits to Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. Though the tour was met with protests and a number of PR blunders, the couple maintained a schedule of engagements celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

When they returned from their tour, the couple attended the memorial service for Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey, before leading the nation in a number of celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee in June, which included their first family visit to Wales.

In September, as their children started a new school following a move to the Windsor Castle estate, the death of Queen Elizabeth II saw the couple undertake a number of engagements connected with the national mourning period, including the state funeral.

One of the last engagements of 2022 for the princess took place on December 15 with her Together at Christmas carol service, which will be broadcast in the U.K. on Christmas Eve and will pay tribute to the late Queen.

Newsweek approached Kensington Palace for comment.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's Royal Reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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