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There’s one small part of me which wonders if Prince Harry’s visit to the UK this week was used as some kind of “smoke William out of his hole” maneuver by Buckingham Palace. Prince William has been almost entirely out of sight for the past month, his staff and communications office have seemingly been operating without any guidance. It genuinely felt like William was MIA for several weeks. William only popped up as soon as BP announced the king’s cancer diagnosis and, in the same breath, Prince Harry’s plans to visit. Suddenly the Kensington Palace comms office had something to do, yet another incandescent briefing spree about how much William hates his brother. William will also do two events today, his first in more than a month. But, according to Becky English at the Mail, this will be the last time we see William for “a bit.”
Prince William will continue to put his wife and children’s welfare to the fore as he steps up to help his ailing father. While the heir to the throne will return to public duties today – after having decided to ‘clear his diary’ in order to support the Princess of Wales during and after her operation last month – he is not expected to pick up full-time royal duties quite yet.
He will undertake two public engagements, holding an investiture at Windsor Castle on behalf of the King in the morning followed by a gala dinner in central London in the evening in his role as patron of the London Air Ambulance. After that, however, he has no further duties scheduled this week and will be with Kate and the children again next week during their half-term holiday.
A source said: ‘The Prince has always made clear that his priority is to support his wife and family for the time being – and he did not put a timescale on that. He will make a return to duties on Wednesday but you should not expect to see him again for a bit after that.’
It is understood that his team at Kensington Palace are speaking to their opposite numbers at Buckingham Palace about which public engagements William could potentially attend in his father’s place. They are likely to be along the lines of further investitures and, perhaps, leading the family at events such as the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey early next month.
But with His Majesty insisting on keeping his hand firmly on the tiller of State business during his treatment, it is highly unlikely that the future king will be required to take over any constitutional matters.
It is understood that William, 41, has his father’s ‘100 per cent’ backing in returning at his own pace. A source said: ‘The King adores Catherine and thinks she is doing a wonderful job. He understands that family comes first.’
The King has been spending an increasing amount of time at Windsor Castle since his accession, often staying over on Sunday evenings, affording him more time with his son and young grandchildren to whom he is growing ever closer. William, who now lives in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate, a short walk from the castle, also often uses rooms in the historic royal residence for meetings.
William has always made clear that, at this stage in his life, his duty to his family comes ahead of his public role. However, it is unheard of to have three senior members of the Royal Family out of action at one time, particularly now the King is likely to be away for longer than planned, meaning working royals will be thin on the ground. And this means there will, inevitably, be more pressure on the future king to step up.
Imagine a national press openly begging the 41-year-old heir to “step up” and help his 75-year-old father suffering from cancer. As I said in the intro, we simply were not getting these kinds of briefings from Kensington Palace in the past month. It’s only after Harry came to the UK that William’s comms office actually gave Becky English some solid information. That info? LMAO, that, no, William won’t be coming back to work in any meaningful way. Today is all they’ll get for another month. Also: British schools’ vacation schedules are completely bonkers to me, how is it that the kids already have a “half-term holiday” coming up? They just went back to school like three weeks ago?? Don’t they have another month off around Easter?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
DARTMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales smiles during a visit to The Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College on December 14, 2023 in Dartmouth, England. His Royal Highness attended a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008, following on from his father, His Majesty The King and his grandfather the late Duke of Edinburgh, who both passed through the college.,Image: 829486195, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
DARTMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales during a visit to The Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College on December 14, 2023 in Dartmouth, England. His Royal Highness attended a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008, following on from his father, His Majesty The King and his grandfather the late Duke of Edinburgh, who both passed through the college.,Image: 829486283, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white.), *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
DARTMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks during a visit to The Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College on December 14, 2023 in Dartmouth, England. His Royal Highness attended a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008, following on from his father, His Majesty The King and his grandfather the late Duke of Edinburgh, who both passed through the college.,Image: 829486293, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white.), *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
DARTMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks during a visit to The Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College on December 14, 2023 in Dartmouth, England. His Royal Highness attended a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008, following on from his father, His Majesty The King and his grandfather the late Duke of Edinburgh, who both passed through the college.,Image: 829486355, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
DARTMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales during a visit to The Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College on December 14, 2023 in Dartmouth, England. His Royal Highness attended a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008, following on from his father, His Majesty The King and his grandfather the late Duke of Edinburgh, who both passed through the college.,Image: 829486378, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
DARTMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales departs from a visit to The Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College on December 14, 2023 in Dartmouth, England. His Royal Highness attended a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008, following on from his father, His Majesty The King and his grandfather the late Duke of Edinburgh, who both passed through the college.,Image: 829486614, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
