From Trump to the Tardis: Charles sets brisk pace in fourth year as KingThe monarch travelled by train, tram, plane and time machine during the past 12 months.The King marked his 77th birthday by taking the controls of a tram-train at the new South Wales Metro Depot in Taff’s Well, during a visit to South Wales on November 14 (Finnbarr Webster/PA)PA ArchiveIan Jones3 minutes ago
The King has rarely been out of the public eye during his fourth year as monarch thanks to a brisk and busy schedule, analysis shows.
Charles carried out engagements on 164 days during the past 12 months, down slightly from 176 in the previous year but up on both the first year of his reign (161) and the second (133).
Besides travelling across the country, the King has met the Pope, had two encounters with US President Donald Trump and seen another change of UK prime minister.
He has done all this while continuing to receive treatment for cancer, suggesting Charles has no intention of easing up at the age of 77.
The past year also saw Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh all carry out more days of engagements than in the preceding 12 months, pointing to a co-ordinated effort by senior royals to step up activity.
The King meets allotment users dressed in floral design hats while visiting Ards Allotments near Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland in May 2026 (Toby Melville/PA)PA Wire
The figures have been compiled by the Press Association using the Court Circular, which is the official record of the royal family’s engagements.
September 8 marks the anniversary of the death in 2022 of Elizabeth II, aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.
It was the moment her son and heir Charles became King, and the date will remain a poignant occasion for the head of state.
The fourth year of Charles’s reign saw him visit places as far apart as the Eden Project in Cornwall, Grimsby Town Football Club in Lincolnshire and Ards Allotments in County Down.
In East Sussex he walked part of the renamed and expanded King Charles III England Coast Path; at Taff’s Well near Cardiff he took the controls of a tram-train; and at Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders he kicked off a game of the traditional street sport of hand ba’.
He even appeared to make a journey in the Doctor Who Tardis, stepping out of the time machine during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Sir Chris Hoy step out of Doctor Who’s Tardis as they arrive for the opening ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 23 2026 (Andrew Milligan/PA)PA Wire
Charles did not undertake quite as many international engagements as in his third year, when he travelled to Australia, Canada, Italy, Poland and Samoa.
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The main foreign trip of the King’s fourth year was a state visit to the United States, followed by a tour to Bermuda, in late April and early May 2026, when he delivered a well-received speech to the US Congress that celebrated Anglo-American relations.
It was only the second time in history that a reigning British monarch has addressed Congress, while Charles’s trip to Bermuda was his first royal visit as sovereign to a British Overseas Territory.
While in the US, the King was greeted by President Trump – an encounter that came just seven months after the two met at Windsor Castle in September.
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump bid farewell to the King and Queen outside the White House in April 2026 (Samir Hussein/PA)PA Wire
Nearer to home, Charles made a two-day state visit to the Vatican in October 2025, during which he met Pope Leo XIV and attended a service in the Sistine Chapel.
The Press Association has classed a day with engagements as one where the monarch is recorded on the Court Circular as undertaking at least one visit, meeting or function in an official capacity.
Days where he carried out other, non-official events, such as attending church in a private capacity, have not been counted.
Using the same criteria, the Court Circular shows the Queen carried out engagements on 114 days during the fourth year of her husband’s reign, more than in each of the previous three years (104 in 2022-23, 107 in 2023-24 and 104 in 2024-25).
The King and Queen with Pope Leo XIV in the San Damaso Courtyard, in St Peter’s Square, during the state visit to the Holy See (Aaron Chown/PA)PA Archive
Camilla accompanied her husband on his overseas trips to the US and the Vatican as well many of his visits in the UK, besides travelling for solo engagements to places including the set of Disney’s TV drama Rivals in Bristol, the Pooh Sticks Bridge in Hartfield in East Sussex, and Spellow Library in Liverpool.
The last 12 months also saw the King greet the fourth prime minister of his reign in as many years, when Andy Burnham took over from Sir Keir Starmer in July.
Liz Truss was prime minister when Charles became King in September 2022, but was succeeded by Rishi Sunak the following month, who in turn gave way to Sir Keir in July 2024.
Such a rapid turnover in premiers is unprecedented in modern times and last occurred more than 100 years ago, during the reign of Charles’s great-grandfather George V.
The King welcomes Andy Burnham during an audience at Buckingham Palace in July 2026, where he invited the newly-elected leader of the Labour Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government (Aaron Chown/PA)PA Wire
The King had 26 formal audiences with his prime minister during the past 12 months, 24 with Sir Keir Starmer and two with Andy Burnham.
This is broadly in line with previous years, which saw 26 audiences in his first year as head of state, 22 in his second and 23 in his third.
In addition, Charles held 12 meetings of the Privy Council.
This is the body of advisers that meets regularly with the monarch to oversee the issue of royal proclamations, charters and other ceremonial matters.
Privy Council members are mostly senior politicians past and present, though only a few serving ministers attend each session.
The council met slightly more frequently during Charles’s first year as King – 16 times – perhaps reflecting the increased amount of official business that accompanies the arrival of a new monarch, while there were 13 meetings in his second year and 11 in his third.
Besides public appearances and political meetings, the King has continued to hold many official one-to-one audiences with senior figures from UK charities and businesses, as well as greeting diplomats and leaders from around the world, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in both October 2025 and March 2026, and most recently French President Emmanuel Macron in September.
Charles talks to French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to view the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition at the British Museum in September 2026 (Adrian Dennis/PA)PA Wire
He has carried out these audiences throughout the past four years, even in the months of March and April 2024 when he was largely out of public view because of his illness.
Buckingham Palace announced in February 2024 that the King had been diagnosed with a form of cancer, since when he has received regular treatment.
Among other senior royals, Press Association analysis shows the Princess Royal has maintained her reputation as the “hardest-working” member of her family, with engagements listed for 183 days in the past 12 months, close to the 190 in the previous year.
Edward is listed as carrying out engagements on 147 days, up from 130; William on 115 days, up from 108; and Kate on 63 days, up from 39.
All data is based on the Court Circular up to and including September 7 2026.
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