Little heard of royal who does more visits than Kate and same number as William
Much emphasis is often put on how many royal engagements Prince William and Princess Kate get through in a year.
However, in part likely down to them having three young children, they are not the members of the Firm who get through the most public appearances - in fact, last year they were sixth and seventh, respectively.
The top spot for the last three years has been taken up by Princess Anne - who last year racked up 457 engagements - and in second was King Charles himself, with 425, according to the Court Circular.
In third was Prince Edward, with 297, then came Queen Camilla with 233 and Edward's wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, with 219. But it's Prince Richard, in joint sixth place with William - both totalling 172 - who appears to stand out the most.
The late Queen Elizabeth's cousin, the Duke of Gloucester, 79, is rarely ever mentioned by Buckingham Palace - though eclipsed Kate's 128 engagements. The previous year, Richard came in seventh, just behind William and Camilla, but still ahead of Kate.
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It comes as other members of the Firm will be expected to step up their appearance counts with Charles undergoing cancer treatment and Kate recovering from surgery. William has, however, allegedly scuppered any hopes of brother Prince Harry returning on a temporary basis.
The official website for the Royal Family's biography of Richard says: "The Duke of Gloucester supports The King in his role as Head of State by representing His Majesty at events in the UK and abroad, as well as attending state and ceremonial occasions alongside other members of the Royal Family.
Prince Richard with wife Birgitte (Getty Images)"The Duke first represented The Queen overseas in 1970, at the wedding of Crown Prince Birendra of Nepal. The Duke has subsequently attended the independence celebrations of the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Vanuatu.
"The Duke represented Her Majesty at the Funeral of King Tupou V of Tonga in March 2012; at the Vatican for the Inauguration of Pope Francis on 19 March 2013; and in South Korea for the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice in July 2013."
Richard is the second son of the late Duke of Gloucester and the late Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester - the third daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch.
He is the grandson of George V and a first cousin to Elizabeth II. He became heir to his father's titles following the death of older brother Prince William of Gloucester in a flying accident in 1972, and succeeded his father in 1974.
Princess Kate and Prince William of Wales (PA)The Duke was born Richard Alexander Walter George in Northampton. He moved to Australia with his parents at just four months - and remained there for two years until 1947, with his father serving as Governor-General.
And while heir to the throne Prince William was the most senior royal to go to Eton, he wasn't the first with Prince Richard also among several - including Prince Edward and Prince Michael of Kent, attending the school before him.
Richard attended Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1963, where he studied architecture, graduating in 1966. He joined the Offices Developments Group of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works for a year before returning to Cambridge in 1967.
After passing both parts of his Diploma in Architecture and completing training, the royal went into practice as a partner in a firm of London architects. However, his career plans changed after his brother's death as he took on increased royal duties for the family estate at Barnwell in Northamptonshire.
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Richard became engaged to Birgitte van Deurs in February 1972 and they married that July. The couple have three children - The Earl of Ulster (born 1974), The Lady Davina Windsor (now The Lady Davina Lewis, born 1977) and The Lady Rose Windsor (now The Lady Rose Gilman, born 1980).
Last year Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, undertook 69 royal engagements, putting her in eighth spot.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment when approached by the Mirror.
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