My count will be different than other people's. I do include some things not on the CC, but since I don't "double count" engagements, my count is often lower than others.
How you count an engagement is probably the biggest reason people have different counts. (And that is also why a number of news sites have switched to counting the number of days worked instead.)
Here Are Our Rules For Counting Events:
- If it is listed in the Court Circular, or the Royal Diary, we usually count it as an engagement
- This includes private events the press was not invited to
- But, not everything in CC is an official engagement. We don't count:
- Births, Birthdays, Weddings, Christenings, etc.
- Except if they are attending is a Foreign Royal Event
- Arrivals and departures at airports
- Represented at an event by another person
- Information for record
- etc.
- But, we may also include events not on CC, as the CC isn't always up-to-date, accurate or consistent
- Has this event been included in CC in the past?
- Have there been other similar engagements listed on CC?
- I.e. Signing Book of Condolences
- Was the Royal there in an Official Capacity?
- Was it announced as an engagement?
- Did the Royal's social media post about it?
- etc.
- What we don't count
- Things we don't have a exact date for
- Interviews
- Photocalls, Photoshoots, etc.
- Filming videos
- Do we count that as one or two engagements?
- Different organizations at different locations = multiple engagements.
- If there are 2+ organizations working together on a project, or 1 is the charity/ project of the parent organization, then they are usually counted as 1 organization.
- Multiple organizations at 1 location for 1 event = 1 engagement.
- (I.e. a conference, forum, etc.)
- 2+ locations with 1 organization in 1 day = 1 engagement
- Same event over multiple days = a separate engagement each day
- If an event happens to go past midnight, we do not count that as two days.
Some Other Reasons People Get Different Counts?
- Some count based on the Court Circular in The Times. Others based on the Court Circular on Royal.UK.
- People include different things from the CC.
- e.g. Airport arrivals/departures
- Some people include things not in the CC.
- The press release explicitly mentions "Engagement #1," Engagement#2," etc. but the Court Circular summarizes the event.
- I once saw a press release about the royals attending a war commemoration that listed 5 "engagements." But the Court Circular was only one line.
- etc.
For example, in CC for August 8th, 2019:
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today held, and competed in, the inaugural King's Cup Regatta, Cowes, and were received by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Isle of Wight (Mrs. Susan Sheldon).
Their Royal Highnesses afterwards attended the King's Cup Regatta prize-giving ceremony, Cowes.Some people count this as 2 engagements, Others (like me) will count it as 1. We both are including the same event, but are just counting it differently. So, we get different numbers.
