William to resume official public duties with food charity visits

The Prince of Wales will return to official public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife, the Princess of Wales, revealed her cancer diagnosis.

William is set to visit a surplus food distribution charity – Surplus to Supper – in Surrey, where he will lend a hand in the kitchen and help load prepared meals into delivery vans.

He will then travel to a youth centre in west London which benefits from the organisation’s deliveries.

The 41-year-old has spent the past three-and-a-half weeks with his wife and children for the Easter holidays, as the family took time away to process Kate’s diagnosis.

In a video message to the nation on March 22, Kate asked that time, space and privacy be afforded to her family following her chemotherapy announcement.

“I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said, adding: “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.”

Founded in 2017, Surplus to Supper sources and distributes an average of 10 tons of food per week to food banks, schools, care homes, religious organisations and youth centres.

William will attend Sunbury Cricket Club, the charity’s headquarters, to meet volunteers who aim to bridge the gap between food waste and food poverty across Surrey and London.

“Reducing food waste has a considerable number of environmental benefits, including reducing emissions from landfill that contribute to climate change”, the Palace said, adding: “Protecting the environment for future generations is one of the Prince of Wales’s key priorities.”

William’s last public engagement came on March 19, when he visited Sheffield to promote his Homewards homelessness campaign.

Kensington Palace previously said that William would resume public engagements after the school holidays, on a reduced timetable as he continues to support Kate through her treatment.

William was seen taking his eldest son Prince George to an Aston Villa football match last week, watching his boyhood club beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in his first public outing since Kate’s announcement.

Kate’s cancer was discovered in post-operative tests following her abdominal surgery in January.