Charles clocked up four more days of work than his mother did in the 12 months after they became monarch (Picture: Getty)

The King has worked for more days in his first year as monarch than his mother did following her accession, new analysis shows.

Charles has undertaken engagements on 161 days since becoming King on September 8, 2022, including travelling to all four nations of the UK and attending dozens of functions.

His mother, Elizabeth II, almost matches him, with 157 days of engagements in her first 12 months after becoming Queen in February 1952, though with a lighter workload and fewer visits.

But analysis from issues of the Court Circular, the official record of the royal family’s daily activities, show Charles has not quite equalled the pace set by his grandfather.

George VI managed 183 days of engagements in his first year on the throne.

The data shows that while some types of engagement are common to all three monarchs – a trip to Ascot races, garden parties – there are striking differences, reflecting changing times and attitudes.

Charles is recorded as having 26 official audiences with the UK prime minister since becoming King: five with Liz Truss – who resigned 48 days into his reign – and the remaining 21 with Rishi Sunak.

His mother clocked up almost the same number in her first 12 months as monarch, with 27 audiences, all of them with Winston Churchill – the first of 15 prime ministers during her reign.

By contrast, George VI had just 12 prime ministerial audiences in the year following his becoming King in December 1936, seven with Stanley Baldwin and five with Neville Chamberlain.

King Charles III greets wellwishers during a visit to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on March 23 (Picture: Getty)

Queen Elizabeth II after her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London (Picture: PA)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after their coronation in 1937 (Picture: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

King Charles III and Queen Camilla watch a performance during a visit to Brecon Cathedral in Brecon, Wales, to mark the centenary year of the cathedral (Picture: Getty)

But the Court Circular reveals he also had many official one-to-one meetings with representatives of the government, from the most senior members of the cabinet to ministers overseeing the Post Office and coal mines.

This high level of involvement in the day-to-day politics of the country is not mirrored in the first year of his daughter’s reign, which saw just a handful of meetings with government ministers.

The same has been true of Charles’s first year, with only a small number of official audiences with politicians other than the Prime Minister, including three with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and one with the Foreign Secretary.

Another sharp contrast between George VI and his daughter and grandson is in the volume of engagements devoted to the then British empire, with George holding many audiences with dignitaries and diplomats from the UK’s colonies.

The number of British overseas territories had started to reduce by the time Elizabeth became Queen – such as India gaining independence in 1947 – meaning her first year saw far fewer colonial-related engagements.

Audiences with ambassadors from countries around the world are a common feature of the first 12 months of all three monarchs, however.

It is likely that Charles has carried out more than 550 engagements since becoming King (Picture: Getty)

King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Princess Royal and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy attend divine service at Crathie Church, Balmoral (Picture: Getty)

Meanwhile, Charles made trips to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales within eight days of becoming King and has peppered the first year of his reign with visits across the country, including York, Wrexham, Manchester, Armagh, Selkirk and St Ives.

By contrast, Elizabeth II did not make an official visit to Scotland until June 1952, four months after becoming Queen, though she travelled to the royal residence of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire in a private capacity in May.

She visited Wales in October to open the Claerwen dam in Powys, and also made trips to a few places including Dorchester and Hemel Hempstead, but had not visited Northern Ireland by the end of her first year.

George VI waited even longer to begin touring the country and did not make any major official trips until after his coronation in May 1937, five months into his reign, when he visited the naval fleet at Portsmouth.

Extended trips to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all took place in July, followed by a three-day tour of Yorkshire in October.

By counting each official visit to a separate location as one engagement, and applying the same rule to each official meeting or audience with another person or group of people, it is likely that Charles has carried out more than 550 engagements since becoming King – close to George VI’s total of at least 570, but well ahead of Elizabeth II, who carried out just over 400.

The King and Queen during a visit to Enniskillen Castle, Co Fermanagh as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland (Picture: PA)

While George did not clock up as many public visits as Charles, he undertook far more meetings and audiences than both his daughter and grandson – a reflection again of his close interest in affairs of state and politics.

The Court Circular suggests George and Elizabeth both spent extended periods of their first year out of the public eye, either carrying out engagements behind closed doors or staying at royal residences – particularly Balmoral, where they were based for much of August and September.

The pattern of Charles’s first year has been different, with shorter spells at royal residences and more frequent public appearances.

In a further contrast, Charles has made two trips abroad since becoming King: a state visit to Germany in March 2023 and a private visit to Romania in June.

Both George VI and Elizabeth II spent their first year as monarchs in the UK, with no official foreign engagements – although Elizabeth, then still a princess, was in Kenya when she became Queen on February 6, 1952, rushing back home to arrive in London the following day.

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Charles has undertaken engagements on 161 days since becoming King, including travelling to all four nations of the UK.