Why Princess Kate's Grueling 23-Mile Hike Raises Fresh Questions About Her Royal Work Tally
Princess Kate's charity hike has drawn praise, but it has also sparked fresh debate over her royal workload and public engagement count.
Princess Kate has further proved her immense resilience by completing the National Three Peaks Challenge recently. She took the 23-mile hike with a total elevation gain of 10,052 feet to raise funds for a cancer charity. However, accomplishing the feat has raised questions about the timing of the same and her royal engagement count.
Kensington Palace announced on June 28 that Kate had successfully completed the Three Peaks Challenge over the weekend. She took on the demanding hike to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and help bring attention to life after cancer. The challenge sees participants climb the highest mountains in Scotland, England, and Wales within 24 hours, with the Princess of Wales setting off on Saturday evening and completing the journey the next day.
In 2024, she announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer after tests following abdominal surgery found the disease. She later completed chemotherapy and announced in January 2025 that she was in remission. The challenge does not just support an important cause but also a personal one for Kate. She posted pictures from the journey on Instagram and wrote, “Cancer doesn’t just affect the body. It changes how you think and feel and profoundly affects every aspect of life.”
Kate said in a video message, “Lots of people have asked me why I'm doing this challenge, and partly it's personal. I'm so grateful to be here, to be strong enough to walk these hills.” Now that Kate says she feels "strong enough" to complete one of Britain's toughest endurance challenges, some commentators have questioned whether the future Princess of Wales could also take on a busier schedule of royal duties.
With regard to her work tally, Kate has carried out 11 solo engagements and six joint engagements with William so far in 2026. However, those numbers are much lower than those of King Charles, who has completed 86 solo engagements this year despite continuing his cancer treatment. A similar picture emerged in last year's Court Circular figures, with Charles carrying out 535 engagements and Princess Anne close behind on 478. The Prince of Wales logged 202 engagements, while Kate's total stood at 68. Against this context, Kate's latest feat has reignited questions about the Waleses' relatively light royal workload.
According to Feminegra, the Waleses seemed to become a lot more active after reports claimed Harry and Markle were planning a UK visit with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Moreover, something similar happened in 2025 as well, when Harry returned to Britain for charity work, and William and Kate appeared to step back into the public eye around the same time. The author suggests that the same thing may be happening again as reports about the Sussexes' July visit continue to go back and forth.
Whether that criticism is fair remains open to debate, but after completing one of Britain's toughest endurance challenges and publicly saying she now feels "strong enough," Kate's latest achievement has inevitably renewed discussion about what her royal workload could look like in the months ahead.
