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Prince William Appears in Public for First Time Since Wife Kate Middleton Left the Hospital

Has the prince returned full-time to his official duties?

Prince William Wearing Navy blue Suit CAT2
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Prince William is back on the (solo) royal engagement trail. 

While his wife, Kate Middleton, recovers at home after undergoing abdominal surgery and his father, King Charles, receives treatment following his cancer diagnosis, the Prince of Wales, 41, is returning to the public eye with an engagement in London. This is William’s first appearance since Princess Catherine's return home.

Per Sky News, the royal hosted an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, where he awarded honors like CBEs, OBEs and MBEs to recipients for their continued work and public service. One of the honorees was Ellen Convery (commonly known as Ellen White), a record goalscorer for the English women’s soccer team. 

In a series of photos shared on the official Instagram account Prince William shares with his wife, the future king can be seen putting medals on the honorees’ clothes. The caption read, “Honouring amazing people doing incredible things in our communities up and down the country.”

This latest public engagement comes just days after Princess Catherine was discharged from the hospital after undergoing abdominal surgery. In a statement released by Kensington Palace on January 29, it stated the Princess of Wales is making “good progress.”

“The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided,” the message continued. “The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”

Some royally-obsessed fans may be surprised to see the Prince of Wales resuming his royal duties so soon. As stated in a previous statement released by Kensington Palace on January 17, Princess Catherine won’t be doing any public activities while she recovers, though it remained unclear when/if Prince William would return to public engagements in the meantime.

Now that William is one of the only working members of the royal family available to step out for events following the king’s recent diagnosis, it seems that the royal dad of three is truly embracing both his public role and his familial duties.


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Assistant Editor, News And Entertainment

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