Prince William plans to return to his duties as a member of the royal family “WFH”.

Prince William plans to return to full-time royal duties starting next week, combining “WFH” digital appearances with in-person engagement to maximize “impact” in what sources said will be a “model” and “trial run” for his future reign.

William, who has not been seen or heard from for more than three weeks since his wife, Kate Middleton, announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, resurfaced in public on Wednesday with a social media post praising a prominent footballer who is retiring from the England national team. a team.

It has been a carefully considered retreat back into public life, and continued digital engagement of this kind is understood to be a key element of his strategy to combine the unexpected intensification of his royal role brought about by his father's illness with being a “family member”. Man,” he brought a kind of “WFH” approach to the Kings business as a friend said.

William has spent the last three weeks of the school holidays at his country home on the Sandringham Estate with his family, a time which has also helped him prepare himself for what another source described as a “trial run for becoming king much sooner than he had imagined”. “—referring to the fact that his father, King Charles III, was forced to step back from public royal duties due to his cancer treatment, leaving William as a senior member of the family who is still actively working.

He is believed to have appreciated his time out of the limelight, and was spotted out earlier this week Enjoy a pint At a local pub with his mother-in-law, Carole Middleton, confirming rumors that Kate's family is rallying to help the princess as she recovers from cancer.

Charles is believed to have spent several days in Scotland to celebrate his wedding anniversary, and although he has also been largely off the radar except for an appearance on Easter Day, father and son are not believed to have met over the Easter weekend. However, Charles left little doubt about his admiration for Kate, with aides telling The Daily Beast that he was “proud” of the way she decided to address her illness publicly.

While Kensington Palace declined to comment on William's exact plans for the next few weeks, and did not respond to questions about whether William would be doing more work online, his office has previously briefed reporters that he can expect to make another public appearance. Once class resumes on Wednesday next week. The Daily Beast understands that this is still the plan and he will be making a series of in-person public appearances over the coming weeks.

“In many ways, the next few weeks and months will be a model for his future reign because he will have similar staff available after he takes the throne, even if not for a long time,” a friend of the couple told The Daily Beast. Several years. I think you'll see him trying to balance the demands of the state with the demands of being a good family man, taking care of his sick wife and making sure his kids are okay. I'm sure this will mean doing more things online. He can “WFH” and do a little bit of a hybrid. And frankly, it has more impact because it reaches more people.

Another source, a former royal, told The Daily Beast: “William and Kate were hoping to spend several decades as Prince and Princess of Wales, and God willing, they will continue to have them. But what's interesting about the next few months is that William will be forced into a dry run to become king much sooner than he thought such a thing would happen. Of course he wouldn't welcome that, but there are sure to be some great straws in the wind about what King Billy's reign will look like.

One thing that seems certain when talking to William's friends and advisors, recently and over the past few years, is that he has no intention of emulating his grandmother's model of doing several hundred engagements a year and sponsoring hundreds and hundreds of charities. Instead, the goal would be to represent fewer issues but have more “impact,” to use the preferred term.

In fact, William himself said as much in tough comments he made to print journalists who accompanied him on a trip to Singapore in November for the Earthshot Prize, which aims to develop technological solutions to the climate crisis.

Jonathan Brady/Pool via Reuters

William paid tribute to his family for “shedding so much light”. [of causes]But, in an explicit rejection of the previous royal habit of taking on hundreds of charities (Prince Philip had more than 800 charities under his wing and Queen Elizabeth II was patron of more than 500), William said: “You have to stay focused. If you spread yourself too thin, you won't be able to manage it and you won't be able to achieve the impact or change you really want to see happen.

Citing his own involvement in the homelessness sector, he said his goal is to engage “deeper and longer,” rather than “just having a lot of issues to raise and observe.”

But there is no doubt about it: if the last few weeks have shown anything it is that, for William, the needs of Kate and the children will always trump the demands of the state and charities. Her team says Kate is doing well, but if a conflict arises, William will likely be a little hesitant to cancel royal engagements to focus on family.

Like Duncan Larcombe, the royal commentator and former royal editor of the British tabloid newspaper the sunHe told The Daily Beast: “William has made it very clear that if the time comes, he will prioritize his wife and children over royal duties. He's torn right now because he obviously has responsibilities to his family but also to his work as a royal. Doing more things online is one way to balance those demands.