This Royal Is Stepping Up To Give Queen Elizabeth A Break

The royal family — especially one member, in particular — has been taking on more responsibility, in order to allow Queen Elizabeth II some much-needed rest.

As the head of the British state, the queen serves as a patron to numerous charities and makes official appearances and speeches throughout the year (via History). Recently, though, there have been some changes to her schedule: Like the rest of the world, she dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of this year, she lost her husband, Prince Philip. And she has had some health problems, as she was seen using a cane for the first time in public since 2003 (via People), spent the night in a hospital, and was told she needed to rest (via NBC News).

This year, Queen Elizabeth has checked off 186 official duties, and these were usually done via the telephone or a video conference call. Prince Charles has done 360, and Princess Anne leads the way, with 368, as reported by Express.

Due to Queen Elizabeth receiving orders for her doctors to take it easy, her family members have been stepping up even more than usual. This is especially true for her one and only daughter, Princess Anne, who started taking on royal duties when she was 18 and now, at the age of 71, works with more than 300 charities, organizations, and regiments (via royal.uk).

The pandemic led to the royal family falling behind on investitures. Since July, though, Prince Charles has done six, Prince William has done three, and Princess Anne has done 13. Lorraine Kelly, for instance, was honored last week by the Princess Royal last week, saying, "I was so pleased it was the Princess Royal, Princess Anne. That made it even extra special. I've always admired her. She works incredibly hard" (via Express).

This royal has not seemed to mind the extra workload either. A source told The Telegraph that Princess Anne "enjoys investitures and meeting the recipients."