Prince William has shared a welcome update on his wife, Kate Middleton, as she gears up to return to public-facing duties in full following her cancer diagnosis.
The Princess of Wales, 42, has spent much of this year behind closed doors following her abdominal surgery in January which was closely followed by her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment.
But her husband has now offered a promising update on her health, saying Princess Catherine will assume a more active role in the royal fold in 2025.
“I think, hopefully, Catherine will be doing a bit more next year,” the Prince of Wales, 42, told reporters over the weekend, per The Guardian. “So, we’ll have some more trips maybe lined up.”
“Family-wise, you have to wait a little bit longer because obviously they’re at school and I think that takes priority [over] everything else,” William said on the final day of his visit to South Africa, which hosted his annual Earthshot Prize Ceremony.
When asked how his wife is doing after declaring she’s now cancer free following her chemotherapy treatment, the future king said Catherine is “doing well.”
When a reporter told him he looked relaxed, the prince was taken aback. “I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that.”
“But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going,” he went on. “I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family, too.”
Elsewhere, William detailed the “brutal” year he and his family have endured.
Describing it as “the hardest year of my life” following the cancer diagnoses of his father, King Charles III, and his wife, the father of three said 2024 has been “dreadful.”
“So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult,” he added, responding to a question about how his year has been.
“But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
As for his children, William revealed that Princess Charlotte isn’t a fan of his new beard.
“Well, Charlotte didn’t like it the first time,” he quipped. “I got floods of tears, so I had to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be OK.”
