Princess Anne takes bold steps to prevent Duchess Sophie from ‘taking’ her title.

Princess Anne is fighting back in her war with the Duchess of Edinburgh over who is the hardest-working royal.

According to the official Court Circular and Royal Diary for this month, Princess Anne has a total of 75 engagements in play compared to Sophie’s nine.

However, a source has pointed out that the Duchess will undertake more than what is officially listed this month due to engagements planned in Malta and other visits not yet added to her diary – but that total will come nowhere near the Princess Royal’s tally.

“Anne and Sophie can see the funny side of it and the race is on,” said the source. “Last month, Sophie was in the lead and it looks like Anne is going to trounce her in October.”

The Sunday Express reported last week that the Duchess of Edinburgh was on course to take the ‘hardest working royal’ crown from Anne after more than doubling the number of engagements she conducted in September compared to the same month last year.

The Duchess of Edinburgh undertook close to 40 royal engagements last month compared to 18 in September 2023.

On the other hand, Princess Anne conducted far less in the same period with 20 engagements listed on the Court Circular for September 2023 dropping to a final total of 15 by the end of last month.

Sophie, 59, has become the Firm’s “secret weapon” this year as she steps up to support the Royal Family during a number of absences.

Both King Charles and the Princess of Wales have been out of action for most of the year which saw the Duchess of Edinburgh take on more responsibility.

Not only have Charles and Kate stepped back after undergoing treatment for undisclosed types of cancers, but Princess Anne was also out of action in June and July following an injury she sustained on her country estate from a suspected horse kick.