Prince William's huge change amid King's and Kate's health battles

10 February 2024 , 09:21

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Prince William has appointed a new private secretary (Image: Getty Images)

Prince William has appointed an ex-Government diplomat as his new private secretary, as he returns to official duties after the shock of his father’s cancer diagnosis.

The heir to the throne cleared his diary to following her abdominal surgery last month, before the announcement has . This week he resumed his royal duties as he carried out an investiture ceremony before attending the London's Air Ambulance charity gala dinner later that evening, thanking the public for their messages of support for the King.

Now it has been confirmed the Prince of Wales has appointed former Government diplomat Ian Patrick, who has also worked for former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, as his new private secretary. Mr Patrick worked under Lord Ashdown when he was in Bosnia from 2002 to 2006 before joining the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He is also a trustee for Crohn's & Colitis UK, a charity for the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease.

Earlier this week William’s estranged brother Harry was back in the UK briefly to visit their ill father - but the Prince of Wales had “absolutely no interest' in speaking to him. After 's shock cancer diagnosis broke on Monday, his youngest son Harry dropped everything and travelled across the Atlantic to have a brief reunion with his dad before dashing back home to California, all within 26 hours. The chat is said to have lasted 30 minutes.

It was said Harry would have gladly accepted an invitation to see his brother, but . A source said: “The Duke's primary reason to travel to the UK is to visit his father. If the opportunity were to arise to see the Prince of Wales then the Duke would have gladly accepted it.”

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The King personally called both his sons, as well as his siblings the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and the Duke of Edinburgh, to inform them of his cancer diagnosis last week, palace officials confirmed. Harry is understood to have agreed to delay his visit to the UK until a public announcement was made by on Monday evening.

A source close to William said: “The prince’s main focus is for his wife, who is recovering from surgery, his three children and now his father. There are no plans for Harry’s visit to act as some kind of vehicle for reconciliation.”

Antony Clements-Thrower