CARLOS FRESNEDALondon Correspondent

London Correspondent

Updated Wednesday, February 7, 2024-14:02

  • United Kingdom Role distribution at Buckingham Palace for King Charles III's cancer

Prince William has returned to public light at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, forced to impersonate King Charles III at official events while he undergoes treatment for cancer. Guillermo imposed 50 distinctions of honor on relevant people such as the soccer player Ellen White, in an event that was initially going to be chaired by his father.

Guillermo, 41, had been retired from public life for three weeks with his family and assisting his wife, Kate Middleton, after the abdominal surgery that left her bedridden for 13 days at The London Clinic (the same private hospital where she was Carlos was admitted for surgery due to a "benign" enlargement of the prostate).

The Prince of Wales, who will attend an event to raise funds for air ambulances in London on Wednesday night, will be forced to intensify his agenda in the temporary absence of King Charles, also assisted by Princess Anne and Queen Camilla .

The monarch plans

to continue exercising his "duties of state"

behind closed doors, including weekly interviews by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which may be via videoconference from his Sandringham residence, where he receives daily treatment for unspecified cancer.

William can also impersonate the king on official trips abroad

, as Charles himself did with Queen Elizabeth II in the last phase of his reign. Charles and Camilla were due to travel to Canada in May, the first official visit to a Commonwealth country since the Coronation, although Buckingham Palace is thoroughly reviewing the agenda before making a final decision.

The Prince of Wales also finds himself in the position of having to perform representative functions alone, given the long recovery that awaits his wife. Kate Middleton has suspended her public events at least until Easter and will spend her convalescence at the Adelaide chalet, within the Windsor complex.

Prince Harry, who flew urgently from California and had a brief 30-minute meeting with King Charles on Tuesday, has not been able to visit his sister-in-law at the moment.

Guillermo did not want to personally receive his brother upon his arrival

, nor does he have plans for a reconciliation meeting against the background of his father's illness.

The "weight loss cure" in the royal family that King Charles imposed at the time of his accession to the throne is meanwhile taking its toll on the Royal House at these critical times. In the absence of Harry and Prince Andrew, both suspended from their royal duties, both Princess Anne and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie - as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh - will have a more relevant role in the coming weeks. Princesses Beatriz and Eugenia also demand a greater role after the last few months on the "bench."