Princess Anne set to visit Dubai for second tour of the year amid shortage of working royals

This is the second tour of the year for Princess Anne, who travelled to Sri Lanka in January with her husband Timothy Laurence.

Anne, 73, is frequently referred to as the hardest-working royal, having carried out the majority of engagements in 2023.

This comes as King Charles and Princess Kate have both temporarily stepped back from royal duties due to various health concerns.

The King, 75, has been diagnosed with a "form of cancer", while Kate, 42, underwent abdominal surgery last month.

This has meant Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have been left as the royals carrying out the majority of working engagements.

Prince William has returned to duties since his wife's operation, however, he is still prioritising caring for his family at Adelaide Cottage.

Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle all stepped down from working duties over the last five years.

Meanwhile, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have never performed engagements on behalf of the monarch.

On arrival in Dubai, Princess Anne is set to visit the busiest port in the Middle East, DP World’s Jebel Ali Port.

The princess is also expected to hear more about the electrified and automated high bay storage stacker cranes being used at the port.

LATEST ROYAL NEWS:

• Prince Andrew was invited to memorial service by Greek Royal Family amid controversial front row seat
• Princess Kate 'unlikely to travel outside UK' in early stages of return to royal duties
• Prince William's 'very concerning' absence not connected to Thomas Kingston's death

Princess Anne will then meet the port’s Operations team, frontline workers and the MtS welfare team.

Following this, the Princess Royal will attend a Women in Shipping and Trading Conference Panel Discussion.

The 73-year-old will end the day in Dubai with a dinner hosted by representatives from MtS.