The first royal to embark on an overseas visit this year has been revealed – and it’s not who you might have expected.
It won’t be King Charles and Queen Camilla clocking up the air miles. Nor will it be Prince William and Princess Kate who were recently blasted as “lazy” by a royal commentator for their perceived lack of official engagements.
Instead it’s Princess Anne who will be making an official visit to Sri Lanka to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and the South Asian island.
The Princess Royal will be joined by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence for the three-day royal trip at the request of the Foreign Office.
The King and Queen Camilla are set to visit Canada in May, and Australia, New Zealand and Samoa in October.
There was no major joint official overseas tour for the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2023 – but William and Kate are reported to be planning to travel to Italy for an official visit this spring.
The King’s sister, 73, has gained a reputation as being one of the most hard working royals and that status was backed by official data in December 2023 which revealed she carried out 457 engagements throughout the year.
But the King wasn’t far off his sister in terms of offical royal engagements – with 425 in what marked his first full calendar year as monarch.
Princess Kate and Prince William were criticised by a royal commentator for their “lazy” attitudes towards Royal Family engagements.
They undertook 172 and 123 engagements in 2023, respectively.
Royal commentator Gareth Russell said: “The danger for them is that even though this is almost certainly motivated by prioritising their home life, it has enabled their critics to paint them as lazy.
“That reputation can take quite a bit of time to shirk off at the moment.”
Buckingham Palace said Anne will undertake engagements and meet local communities and faith groups in the capital Colombo, the city of Kandy in the centre of Sri Lanka, and Jaffna on the northern tip of the country from January 10 to 12.
She will also meet Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe during her stay.
