Prince William
As heir to the throne, he is now more in demand than ever before
Prince William
© lev radin/Shutterstock
Between royal duties and personal worries: Prince William has tough weeks ahead. That’s why he’s more challenged than ever before.
Prince William must function as heir to the throne
Before his father’s cancer diagnosis was announced, Kensington Palace announced that Prince William would return to his royal work on Wednesday (January 7). He had been sidelined for around two weeks due to his wife’s hospital stay. The awarding of some medals in the morning at Windsor Castle and a fundraising gala in the evening in London are planned for Wednesday.
Given the latest developments surrounding his father, his return to public duties is likely to be more hectic than relaxed. He probably now has many appointments ahead of him that he has to attend to as heir to the throne and representative of his father. It remains to be seen how much support he will receive from Charles’ wife Queen Camilla (76). According to Daily Mail royal expert Rebecca English It is currently assumed that Camilla plans to carry out “a full program” of public tasks. At the same time, she wants to play “an important role in supporting the king during his treatment.”
He has more appointments coming up than planned
So while Prince William has to come to terms with the fact that he will play a larger role than expected in the British monarchy’s public appearances in the near future, he is also burdened with concerns about the health of two important people in his life. He cannot currently hope for the support of his wife Kate in his public tasks or in his duties as a working royal. She is currently recovering from her abdominal operation at the home of the heir to the throne in Adelaide Cottage. Little is known about the actual condition of the heir to the throne’s wife. Unlike her father-in-law, Kate wants her “personal medical information to remain private,” the palace said.
He cares about Kate and looks after the children
This means that Prince William is likely to be more challenged as a parent than usual at the moment. During Kate’s two-week stay in the hospital, he even withdrew from appointments completely in order to better look after Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince together with the nanny Louis (5) to be able to look after him. In this regard, however, he is likely to receive support from Kate’s family: She is said to be very close to her parents Carole (68) and Michael Middleton (74) as well as her siblings Pippa (40) and James (36). They also live nearby in Berkshire and are certainly happy to be there for their daughter and her family.
How much potential for controversy does Prince Harry’s visit offer?
But that’s not all the excitement: For months there have been rumors and speculations about the cold relationship between Prince William and his brother Prince Harry (39). The latter has just landed in Great Britain to support his father. He had probably informed him personally about his illness. And that even though the situation between Charles and Harry has been very tense recently. The fact that Prince Harry is traveling to visit after the shocking diagnosis could pose additional potential for conflict for William. Or also mean “luck in misfortune”, if you believe royal expert Jennie Bond (73).: “Maybe his father’s illness will finally, finally bring about the reconciliation we’ve all been talking about for what feels like forever.”