Prince William is returning to royal duties, having taken three weeks off to support his young family while his wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, recuperates from abdominal surgery.
The heir to the throne will conduct an investiture at Windsor Castle and later attend London Ambulance’s fundraising gala.
The Prince of Wales, 41, will deliver a speech at the annual event, where he is expected to talk about King Charles’s cancer diagnosis for the first time.
William is only expected to touch upon his father’s illness briefly, as he wants to ensure the charity remains the focus of his visit. However, he is aware that people want to know how the King is doing since starting his treatment on Monday.
The senior royal is set to thank well-wishers for their support during the family’s difficult time and might also mention his wife, who continues to recover from her abdominal surgery at their Windsor home.
It marks the first time William has stepped out in public since he was pictured visiting Kate at The London Clinic on January 18.
He has spent the past few weeks putting his family first as he supported his wife and looked after their three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
The heir did not want to return to royal duties until Kate, who spent 13 nights in hospital, was settled at home.
William’s last public engagement was on January 11, when he surprised Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield by awarding them with their CBEs during a meeting in Leeds.
But today he will get stuck in with handing out gongs at Windsor Castle, where he is due to present an MBE to the England women’s football side’s record goalscorer, retired professional Ellen Convery – formerly White – and more than 50 other recipients of various honours.
In the evening the Prince, a former air ambulance pilot, will attend the annual fundraising gala for London’s Air Ambulance, a charity he became patron of in 2019.
He also persuaded the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, to get the government to pay for some of the costs of the service after the then health secretary Ken Clarke said there was no money available.
