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TheCourt Circular is the official record that lists the engagements carried out by themonarch of the United Kingdom and the otherCommonwealth realms; theroyal family; and appointments to their staff and to the court. It is issued bySt James's Palace and printed a day in arrears at the back ofThe Times,The Daily Telegraph andThe Scotsman newspapers. An archive of the circular since 1997 is provided on the British monarchy's website.
The circular is traditionally written in very formal language, and describes persons with their official styles and titles at all times (Michael Ancram, for instance, was referred to as "the Marquess of Lothian MP" from 2004 to 2010). There has, however, been some modernisation of the writing style in recent years.
The Court Circular was established in 1803 byKing George III, who had become frustrated at inaccurate reporting of royal events by the national press. He arranged for a daily report to be circulated to the press, listing the sovereign's official engagements.[1]
Until the 1960s, the Circular as printed inThe Times and elsewhere would record the movements of members of the upper levels of society even if they were not part of the royal family and were not acting on its behalf.
The Court Circular follows royal protocols strictly. Announcements in the circular are listed by the official residences of those being reported on, inorder of precedence. Only engagements which are carried out by the King (or in the UK on the King's behalf) are listed. Certain engagements carried out in the UK by persons not of the King's family but on his behalf are also listed.
Today, the following members of the Royal Family are listed in the Court Circular:
Although the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh do not reside permanently atBuckingham Palace, their offices are based there, and they have use of apartments at the palace as a London residence.
Prince William began carrying out royal duties in July 2005, and was listed for the first time in his own right on 2 July for representing the Queen at a war memorial service in New Zealand.
Since theystepped back as senior members of the Royal Family and emigrated to the United States of America, theDuke andDuchess of Sussex do not carry out official royal engagements and do not appear in the Court Circular, unless attending an important royal function with other members of the Royal Family.
The Duke of York also does not carry out official royal engagements and therefore does not appear in the Court Circular (unless attending an important royal function with other members of the Royal Family) after he stepped down from public duties in November 2019 following intense negative reaction toa BBC television interview he gave regarding allegations of sexual abuse, which he denies.
Princess Beatrice andPrincess Eugenie do not carry out official royal engagements and do not appear on the Court Circular, except when attending an important royal function with other members of the Royal Family.
Vice AdmiralSir Timothy Laurence is occasionally listed as accompanying his wife, the Princess Royal, on visits overseas and within the United Kingdom. He was styled as Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, until 2011. Now he is styled as Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, with Vice-Admiral occasionally hyphenated.[6]
The Duchess of Kent stepped back from royal duties in 1996 and only appears in the Court Circular when attending an important royal function with other members of the Royal Family.
Prince andPrincess Michael of Kent only appear in the Court Circular when attending an important royal function as they do not carry out official royal engagements on behalf of the King.
When Royals undertake joint engagements, it is listed under the section of the Royal with the higher precedence. They are referred to as "X and Y" (in order of precedence), then "Their Majesties," "Their Royal Highnesses," or, "His/Her Majesty and His/Her Royal Highness."
When the King is visiting one of theCommonwealth realms, the relevantGovernment House or hotel where he is staying is listed in the Court Circular as his residence. This differs fromstate visits to foreign countries where either the official residence of the foreignHead of State, or whichever hotel the King is staying at, or simply Buckingham Palace is listed.
When other members of the Royal Family visit one of the realms, their UK principal residence is listed.
There is no separate Court Circular for any of the Commonwealth realms other than the UK. The Court Circular only lists engagements carried out by the King, and not engagements carried out by others acting on his behalf outside the UK, for example byvice-regal officers such asgovernors orgovernors-general.