Following King Charles III's unexpected cancer diagnosis, Prince William, the heir to the throne, is expected to
return to royal duties on Wednesday
, his first public service since his wife underwent abdominal surgery last month. past.
This Wednesday
he will host an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle,
before attending London Air Ambulance's annual fundraising gala in London.
Prince William's return to work
comes at a difficult time for the
41-year-old
heir to the throne
.
Not only
will he carry out engagements without Kate
, who is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter, by his side.
But he will also
be tasked with covering some of the King's public duties
in the coming weeks.
Prince William leaves the London Clinic after visiting his wife.
Photo: FILE/ HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
His brother, Prince Harry, returns to the United Kingdom, after being seen at Los Angeles airport last night.
But
the brothers' relationship is tense
and it is not known if they will meet.
The Princess of Wales underwent surgery on January 16 at The London Clinic private hospital in the British capital, which she left a week ago to finish her recovery at home, where she is "making good progress," according to official palace sources. .
It was never reported why she had surgery.
A few hours later, the King of England, Charles III, left the same London medical center where he had been admitted since Friday, January 26, for an operation due to an enlarged prostate.
For the moment, the monarch had rescheduled his public engagements to be able to recover from the surgery, as Buckingham Palace announced in a statement.
But then it was reported that "a form of cancer"
had been detected
, changing the entire scenario.
William, Kate and their three children.
Photo: AP
While the King recovers, Queen Camilla will continue to attend public engagements, Buckingham Palace said.
If it were the case that the King was unable to carry out his official duties for a temporary period,
two or more members of the Royal Family would be appointed State Councilors
to act in his place.
They could include the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh, brothers of the king.
What does this mean for William and his brother Harry?
The news was a bucket of cold water for the royals, in a particularly gloomy winter for the Royal Family.
Prince William, Prince Harry and their royal relatives will now
face private anxieties
and public pressures.
It all started three weeks ago, out of the blue, on a freezing January afternoon, with a message that Kate, Princess of Wales, had undergone an operation serious enough to require
months of recovery.
That was it.
There was no more information
William and Harry, estranged.
The television cameras had barely arrived at his London hospital when it was also announced that the king was going to undergo surgery for an enlarged prostate.
It was a completely unexpected double whammy
for royal health which was then compounded by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, revealing she had skin cancer.
Now we learn that the King has a form of cancer.
All the questions that families around the world ask when receiving such worrying news: Where?
How far?
What type?
What's next?: They remain unanswered.
Nowadays, palaces may post royal information on social media, rather than something more ceremonial.
But however it comes,
it's been a torrent of bad news for the royals
.
After all, the Royal Family is still a family.
And it seems a much more fragile group of people than at last year's summer Coronation celebrations.
But these kinds of emergencies
can bring people together,
says BBC royal correspondent Sean Coughlan.
Without any type of misunderstanding or complication, Prince Harry will visit his father.
Prince Harry will visit his father.
Photo: Toby Melville / AFP
He will be seen
as building bridges
, but that was already in the works: the prince called his father to celebrate his 75th birthday in the fall.
The tension always seemed to be more with his brother
and the tabloid press than with his father.
Prince William is now expected to play a larger role in terms of public appearances and covering official duties.
He is the heir, next in line, and
he is expected to step forward
, in the same way that not long ago, King Charles stepped forward to help his own mother.
Attention will focus on him when he appears publicly later this week.
He will be worried about his wife's health problems.
But the palaces will also miss Kate, as one of his most trusted figures in difficult times, and now out of action for months.
With information from the BBC