LONDON — Prince William returns to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife's cancer diagnosis, bolstering the royal family's ranks as health problems continue to sideline the princess and King Charles III.
William is set to visit a surplus food redistribution center and a youth club it serves, highlighting efforts to reduce food waste as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and feed people in need. The prince stepped away from public duties after Kate, the Princess of Wales, announced on March 22 that she was undergoing treatment for an unspecified type of cancer.
FILE - Prince William arrives to attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey in London, on March 11, 2024. Prince William is returning to public duties for the first time since his wife’s cancer diagnosis. He will be bolstering the royal family’s ranks as health problems continue to sideline the Princess of Wales and King Charles III. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Kirsty Wigglesworth
In a video message released that day, Kate asked for "time, space and privacy" as she and her family adjusted to her diagnosis.
"I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," she said at the time.
"It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be okay," she added.
Britain's Prince William is greeted as he arrives for a visit to Surplus to Supper, in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, Thursday, April 18, 2024. The Prince visited Surplus to Supper, a surplus food redistribution charity, to learn about its work bridging the gap between food waste and food poverty across Surrey and West London. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, pool)
Alastair Grant
Both Charles and Kate have been largely absent from the public stage since January due to health problems, leaving Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and other members of the royal family to pick up the slack on the whirl of events and awards ceremonies that dominate the work of Britain's monarchy.
Charles announced on Feb. 5 that he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer following treatment for an enlarged prostate two weeks earlier. Kate's diagnosis came after she was hospitalized in late January for unspecified abdominal surgery.
William is set to visit a surplus food distribution charity — Surplus to Supper — in Surrey, southwest of London, where he will lend a hand in the kitchen and help load prepared meals into delivery vans. He will then travel to a youth center in west London that benefits from the food deliveries.
Kate, Princess of Wales, through the years
Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn baby princess, pose for the media as they leave St. Mary's Hospital's exclusive Lindo Wing, London, Saturday, May 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, right, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge watch a fashion show at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, Thursday March 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Oli Scarff, Pool, File)
Kate Middleton arrives at Westminster Abbey at the Royal Wedding in London Friday, April 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer, File)
Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, right, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave Buckingham Palace in a open horse drawn carriage on their way to the Horse Guards Parade for the Trooping the Colour ceremony to mark the official birthday of the Queen, in London, Saturday, June 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori, File)
Britain's Prince William, right, and his wife Kate, left, the Duchess of Cambridge, wave to the crowd. Wednesday, April 23, 2014, in Adelaide, Australia.
Britain's Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge reacts during a visit to Battersea Park, as she met up with mothers, in London, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020.
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, Thursday, June 2, 2022 as they watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over.
Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge stand outside of Westminster Abbey after their Royal Wedding in London Friday, April, 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Britain's Prince William, right, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, pose for the media with their newborn daughter outside St. Mary's Hospital's exclusive Lindo Wing, London, Saturday, May 2, 2015. The Duchess gave birth to the Princess on Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge hold the Prince of Cambridge, Tuesday July 23, 2013, as they pose for photographers outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London where the Duchess gave birth on Monday July 22. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall watch as Britain's Prince William kisses his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Royal Wedding in London Friday, April, 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge stands on centre court during the trophy presentation after Serbia's Novak Djokovic defeated Switzerland's Roger Federer during the men's singles final match of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2019. (Laurence Griffiths/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Duchess of Cambridge arrives to attend a service of commemoration to pay tribute to members of the British armed forces past and present who served on operations in Afghanistan, at St Paulís Cathedral, in central London, Friday, March 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George are seen in the royal box before the final of the men's singles on day fourteen of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Britain's Prince William and Kate Duchess of Cambridge pass along The Mall as part of a four-day Diamond Jubilee celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne, London, Tuesday, June, 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Tom Hevezi, Pool, File)
Britain's Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, laughs, during a visit to St Thomas' Hospital with Prince William to promote mental health issuses, in London, Thursday March 10, 2016. (Toby Melville /Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge attends the Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, in London, April 25, 2019. (Victoria Jones/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Prince Louis leans on Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant held outside Buckingham Palace, in London, Sunday June 5, 2022, on the last of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Prince William, second left, Kate, Princess of Wales, left, Britain's Prince Harry, second right, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex view the floral tributes for the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England on Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Britain's Prince William, left, and Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a ceremonial welcome for the President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade in London, England on Nov. 21, 2023. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Kate, Princess of Wales, centre, waves from the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Prince William, right, Princess Charlotte, down left, and Prince Louis, down centre, during the coronation of Britain's King Charles III, in London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attends a reception for parents of users of a Centre for Early Childhood, on the day of the launch of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood at Kensington Palace in London, Friday, June 18, 2021. (Tolga Akmen/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, right, walks with the bridesmaids and pageboys as they arrive for her sister Pippa Middleton's wedding to James Matthews, at St Mark's Church in Englefield, England, Saturday, May 20, 2017.
Britain's Prince William and Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales visit The Street, a community hub that hosts local organisations to grow and develop their services, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Thursday Nov. 3, 2022. (Charlotte Graham/Pool via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales, smiles as she visits the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and meets with some of the young people that the charity supports, May 16, 2023, in Bath, England. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, leaves BAFTA, after she delivered a speech to launch the "Taking Action On Addiction" campaign, in London, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, Sunday Nov. 13, 2022. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, looks back during the opening ceremony of the renovated Commonwealth Street in central Honiara, Solomon Islands, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, pauses during a book signing as she and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, take part in a ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada on Thursday, June 30, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick, File)
The Duchess of Cambridge talks to local people as she visits Summerfield Community Center, Birmingham, England Friday Aug. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Geoff Pugh, Pool, File)
Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, smile as they watch a shark ceremony as they arrive at Marapa Island, Solomon Islands, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, Pool, File)
Prince William, right, and wife Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, watch track cycling at the velodrome during the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, in London.
From left, Britain's Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall ride in a carriage during the Trooping the Color parade in London, Thursday June 2, 2022, on the first of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge sits on a log with children at the Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden, in London, Tuesday Oct. 2, 2018. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, shelters from the rain as she arrives at Kensington Palace for a reception for parents of users of a Centre for Early Childhood, on the day of the launch of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, in London, Friday, June 18, 2021. (Tolga Akmen/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge sits in the Royal Box for the final of the women's singles between Tunisia's Ons Jabeur and Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina on day thirteen of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Saturday, July 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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