It's not my math that is off. It's the deceptive presentation of the 100+ number of the King's official tally since he ascended that is murky. With the implication that these 100+ engagements are full engagements and not just momentary notations.
These engagements are things like audiences with the many visitors to the UK for the funeral and with the new PM.
Things like the Privy Council and the events around the actual movement of the Queen's coffin.
They do NOT include 'momentary notations' at all as those things aren't noted in the CC.
14 phone calls in a day is not something to be sneezed at and written off when those phone calls are with Heads of State such as the US President - I suppose you thing that that call lasted about 1 minute when it was probably closer to 30 minutes. And there were 13 other such calls in one day.
In the court circular, if the monarch goes to church on Sunday, like millions of his subject do, it's considered an official engagement because he's the Head of the Church of England. If he separately meets with two different people at the same location, for the same purpose, but within minutes of each other, it's considered two official engagements, even if he never needs to leave the room.
The CC records that divine service was held at a church that some royals attended when at Balmoral or Sandringham but doesn't list who attended and as such I have never counted them as official duties.
If two separate people enter the room AT THE SAME time it is one event but if they are introduced separately - i.e. one enters, has their discussion, leaves and the process starts again of course it is two engagements. It would be two meetings if it was in an office setting. Often, just because the King hasn't left the room doesn't mean that there is no time in between the meetings either. The first person has to be escorted out.
If he takes a five minute phone call, it's considered a single official engagement. With the number of people calling the new King to give their condolences, it's no wonder that his engagements calendar since the death of HM the Queen is largely inflated.
The idea of phone calls and video calls came about due to covid and were to replace the normal audiences. They aren't a five minute calls for the most part.
The number of phone calls was because people were OVERSEAS and it was easier. There is no suggestion that those 14 or so phone calls were five minutes each and as each of the people making the call was also planning on attending the funeral no doubt there was also discussion about the arrangements for the funeral. These phone calls were from one HEAD of STATE to another HEAD of STATE. These are never 5 minute phone calls.
A quick read through the Court Circular is all you need to see this.
I don't do 'a quick read' though but a detailed analysis - an analysis that will result, at the end of the year to a personal report that will go for over 400 pages of all the engagements undertaken by the royals. That is why I know that the CC doesn't list who attends church even though it is noted that divine service takes place. I post a weekly 'summary' on this site.
Only when a royal is named is such an event counted as an official engagement.
I have used the same criteria since I started doing this in 2012 and have usually been within a few engagements - sometimes one or two more and sometimes one or two fewer than Mr O'Donovan whose figures are the ones generally accepted as the 'official figures' due to his annual letter to The Times published at the end of each year ... although his letter wasn't published last year but as he is well into his 80s maybe he has stopped doing it.
Why is the Court of Claims considered archaic?
