With the Royal Family undertaking an unprecedented amount of engagements last year, King Charles has big plans for the Firm for the coming 12 months to make 2026 better than ever for the monarchy
The Royal Family are set to undertake a series of major engagements in 2026(Image: PA)
The new year brings with it new opportunities for all and the Royal Family will be hoping 2026 offers the chance for a fresh start.
The King will be hoping to build on the good news that his cancer treatment is to be reduced in the coming weeks, nearly two years since his diagnosis. There is plenty to look forward to with a trip to the United States where President Donald Trump will return the favour of rolling out the red carpet for a glittering royal tour.
And Royal watchers will be hoping to see more of the Prince and Princess of Wales as she celebrates a year of being in remission from cancer this month. But with an ageing population amid the working royals, who will be the main runners and riders to step up both at home and abroad for the coming 12 months?
Here we take a look at what 2026 has in store for the monarchy.
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The Royal Family are in for a busy 2025(Image: Getty Images)King Charles
Fresh from being crowned the hardest working royal of 2025, by clocking up the most public engagements, King Charles is looking ahead to a busy 2026.
At the end of the year, the monarch shared the good news that after nearly two years since his cancer diagnosis in February 2024, his treatment schedule is to be reduced in the new year.
Charles and Camilla already have two major international royal tours lined up in the coming months, covering a total of 15,000 miles. In April, the King and Queen are set to tour the United States after being invited by President Donald Trump.
Following the diplomatic success of Trump’s historic second State Visit to the UK in September, the President will turn host as America rolls out the red carpet for the royals.
King Charles was crowned the hardest working royal of 2025(Image: PA)
In November, Charles is due to fly to Antigua and Barbuda for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) summit. The King will be hoping for a good reception in the Caribbean following the controversy over the Prince and Princess of Wales’s trip to Jamaica and The Bahamas in 2022.
That trip for William and Kate was greeted with protests and questions over how Caribbean nations and current realms are planning a future away from the Crown. Charles and William have to their credit consistently said they will not stand in the way of countries seeking a new relationship with Britain, and will seek to be “partners rather than rulers”.
Charles will undoubtedly want to continue his lifelong environmental work and continue to highlight good causes helping young people forging better futures. Royal sources say the King, now 77, is feeling stronger and more positive about his cancer journey with each month that passes and has become used to living with the disease.
After finally putting his disgraced brother Andrew into exile and having his estranged son Harry still pursuing his fight against the British government regarding his right to taxpayer funded security when in the UK, there have been plenty of distractions that Charles will want to move on from in 2026.
Queen Camilla
Camilla is determined to keep using her profile to highlight two major causes close to her heart in 2026, campaigning for victims of domestic abuse and forging a new future for literacy around the world.
The Queen has become a leading light in the fight against domestic violence of all forms, building on the success of putting the spotlight on charities and those who work in the arena during a landmark documentary with ITV at the end of 2024.
Queen Camilla will use her high profile to champion the causes closest to her heart(Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
This week she bravely shared for the first time her own experience as a teenager of being attacked on a train by a man, which left her feeling “angry” and “furious”. The Queen has broken taboos on the subject, encouraging more people to reach out for help if they are experiencing domestic abuse.
A major focal point for Camilla in 2026 will be highlighting her campaign to raise the standards of literacy across the country and around the world.
The Prince and Princess of Wales
Following her announcement at the beginning of 2025 that her own cancer treatment had entered a remission phase, the Princess of Wales found her way back into public life. This year she is set to continue with her landmark projects such as early years development in children and also
Prince William has two major international tours already lined up. He is set to travel to the US in late June for the football World Cup in his role as patron of the Football Association (FA), which could also include attending events to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence on July 4, 2026.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have a packed year ahead(Image: Getty Images)
William will in the autumn, in October or November, take his Earthshot Prize awards to India for the sixth instalment of his decade-long project. The trip will be seen as a diplomatic test for the Prince, considering India is ranked as one of the world’s biggest polluters as well as the country’s support for Russian president Vladimir Putin.
With the Ukraine war now into its fourth year after Russia ’s full scale invasion in February 2022, the Prince and Princess of Wales will continue their support of Ukraine and its people by highlighting humanitarian efforts in the UK and abroad.
Princess Anne
Despite being officially dethroned as the ‘hardest working royal’, there is no doubt that the Princess Royal is the constant the monarchy needs. When senior figures have been forced to take a back seat, following the King’s and Kate’s individual cancer diagnoses, Princess Anne remained diligently doing the job in hand.
There is one reason above all why she is known as Charles ‘most trusted lieutenant’, because she is a safe pair of hands. Getting on with the job, without fanfare or the need for a huge profile around her work, the Princess completed more working days of royal duties than anyone else last year.
Princess Anne plans to continue her role supporting the King and his heirs(Image: Alamy Live News.)
Naturally, with the increasing age of other working members of the royal family, the King’s long held ambition of a “slimmed down” monarchy is coming to fruition.
But at 75 Anne is not looking towards retirement. Instead she sees her role as supporting the King and his heirs for as long as she is able.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
Prince Edward and Sophie still operate very much under the radar, but as time passes that will have to change. Buckingham Palace and indeed the King need to harness the power of the couple, both 61, as the monarchy enters a new phase.
With the Duke of Kent, now 90, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, 81 and 79 respectively, there needs to be more onus on the younger members of the team stepping up to fulfil the duties of the crown.
Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh will continue their work on the international stage(Image: Pool, Getty Images)
The Duchess of Edinburgh last year undertook several official tours with social and environmental agendas and will continue her work on the international stage.
Her major focus campaigning to support women affected by conflict and gender-based violence has gained international attention in recent years, including delivering a keynote speech on eye health and gender equality at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York last March.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The Duke of Sussex expects in the next few weeks to receive a final decision on the government’s review of his access to security when he visits the UK. In May, Harry lost a legal case to have his police protection reinstated. In a BBC interview after the ruling, he said it was not safe to bring his family back to the country of his birth because he could not guarantee their safety.
A Home Office review will now look at whether he should automatically receive full police protection on visits to the UK even though he is no longer a working member of the royal family.
Relations remain fractious to say the least between Harry and Meghan and their families. The King has kept his estranged son at a distance, meeting with him for less than an hour during his last visit to the UK, while Prince William still does not trust his brother enough to entertain him. Meghan’s father was hospitalised at the end of 2025, leading to him having a leg amputated. Having not spoken to her father since he failed to turn up to her wedding in 2018 and subsequently gave countless media interviews. Thomas Markle has since said he does not want to die while distanced from his daughter and that he still wishes to meet his grandchildren, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, as well as Meghan’s husband.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have hinted that their children may engage more in public life(Image: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock)
After claiming she had made numerous attempts to contact her father via a defunct email address following news of his serious condition, Meghan did get a letter to him through intermediaries. Meanwhile, Meghan is still hopeful of landing a new season with her lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, despite being globally panned by critics.
Language used when announcing a change to their foundation to become ‘Archewell Philantropies’ also hinted at engaging their children further in public life, noting the change “allows the couple and their children to expand upon their global philanthropic endeavours as a family.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Having enjoyed a final Christmas at his Royal Lodge mansion, with just his ex-wife and soon to be ex-housemate Sarah Ferguson for company, 2026 will look very different for the former prince.
Having been stripped by the King of all his titles and honours, the former Duke of York who for years travelled the world at the expense of the British taxpayer enjoying the perks and privileges of being a senior royal, will now be known as plain Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The public furore over his relationship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as well as Fergie’s personal messages to the monster she called a “steadfast and generous friend”, is unlikely to ever diminish.
There will be no way back for Andrew or Fergie, who was dumped from several of her charitable patronages and organisations following the expose of emails she sent to Epstein.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces a challenging 2026(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Further information and allegations have continued to emerge with the release of more of the ‘Epstein files’ in the United States. There are still outstanding calls for Andrew to give evidence to a US Congress committee and the US Department of Justice. And these latest emails will only add to the questions.
Andrew is set to move to a residence on the Sandringham estate in the first quarter of the year. However, the ramshackle Marsh Farm, which is seven miles west of the King’s Sandringham House, requires serious renovations which the King is paying for and is expected to lead to delays.
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