The Prince of Wales is to return to royal duties on Wednesday for the first time since his wife had abdominal surgery last month. Prince William will conduct an investiture at Windsor Castle before attending a fundraising gala in London in the evening, Kensington Palace said. Catherine, Princess of Wales, is recuperating at home after leaving hospital last week. The prince had taken time off to support his family while she recovered. Among his first public engagements will be attending the annual fundraiser for the London Air Ambulance, of which he is a patron. Catherine, 42, spent 13 nights at the London Clinic following the surgery and is not expected to return to royal duties for several weeks. This partial return to work for Prince William comes as both his wife and his father the King — who had a procedure for an enlarged prostate — are recovering and not carrying out engagements. Queen Camilla has been the most senior royal still in action, carrying out a series of solo events last week, including in London, Bath and Cambridge. Before the King came to the throne there had been talk of "slimming down" the Royal Family, but the current challenge is the shrinking number available for public events and an increasingly aging group of working royals. Prince William and Catherine are the only working royals below the age of 50. Apart from her presence on royal visits, in media terms Catherine has been an important public face of the Royal Family, regularly appearing on front pages. The two engagements for Prince William are close to home — at Windsor Castle and in central London — as his wife recuperates in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate. The nature of Catherine's condition was not revealed but it was serious enough to mean she will be recovering away from public duties until after Easter. The palace previously said it was not cancer related. Prince William visited his wife at the central London hospital and she was visited by the King before he had his own treatment there. The monarch, who left hospital on the same day as the princess, is yet to return to official duties but did attend church in Norfolk on Sunday. King Charles is thought to have wanted to share the news of his treatment in the hope of encouraging other men to get themselves checked. NHS England said the "enlarged prostate" page on the NHS website received one visit every five seconds on the day his diagnosis was announced, an interest welcomed by doctors and charities. — BBC
