Prince William is set to spend his first night away from wife Princess Kate Middleton since she received her cancer diagnosis.
The prince has been switching up his diary to be by Kate’s side as she undergoes treatment for the illness. He is due to spend Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10, in Cornwall, where he will carry out engagements in Newquay and then on the Isles of Scilly.
On Thursday he will visit the site where the Duchy of Cornwall’s first homeless housing project will be built, in Nansleden, Newquay.
The project will provide 24 homes and offer support to homeless people. William briefly took a step back from public duties since his wife made the news of her health public in March.
The Prince of Wales, 41, returned to his busy schedule late last month when he attended the opening of a suicide prevention center for men in need in Newcastle upon Tyne on April 30.
The same day, he also visited Low Carbon Materials manufacturers where he was shown the low-carbon concrete manufacturing process.
He previously showed up at the West Midlands school for a surprise visit after one of the students sent him an invitation, which he had originally turned down.
William, who shares Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, with Kate, 42, has spoken many times about Kate’s health during his past few public engagements, assuring well-wishers that he is “looking after” her and that “the family is doing well.”
Kate chose to address her cancer battle at her own pace. Her last official public appearance was in December 2023. In January, the palace announced that she wouldn’t be doing any royal duties until after April at the earliest due to a planned abdominal surgery.
“The surgery was successful, and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery,” read an official statement. “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
The news of William’s overnight stay comes as his father, King Charles III, will beattending an engagement with him next week to bestow a special honor. William will be made the Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, which is his brother Prince Harry’s old regiment.
The Buckingham Palace announcement that the king would pass on the Colonel role he held for 31 years to William came on Tuesday, May 7, just two hours after it was confirmed that Harry, who is currently in London for an Invictus Games visit, would not meet with his father while abroad.
The palace statement read: “At the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop, His Majesty The King will officially hand over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.”
“In August 2023, following His Majesty’s Accession, The King was pleased to announce military appointments including that The Prince of Wales would become Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps,” the statement continued. “The role was previously held by His Majesty The King, as Prince of Wales, for 31 years.”
Before Prince Harry, 39, had decided to step away from royal life in 2020, it was thought he would be the one handed the role that would see him take charge of the regiment he toured Afghanistan with until 2014.
