In yet another break with royal tradition, Prince William has been spending every spare minute by his wife's bedside over the past few days of her hospitilisation. He arrived back at King Edward hospital this morning shortly after 9am (presumably just after she had been 'freshened up').
It's quite a different attitude to his father, Prince Charles, who spent just 17 minutes with a young William when he was treated for a head injury as a schoolboy before going to the opera.
But over the next few days the young royal couple will have to face up to the fact that they are probably going to spend a large chunk of her pregnancy separated. Kate is expected to stay in London to be near doctors because the condition that the duchess, who is believed to be only eight weeks pregnant, has been diagnosed with can last for the first five months of pregnancy and sometimes for the duration. William is obliged to return to his RAF base in Anglesey in Wales to make up his flying hours, which were severely impacted by the amount of time he had to take off work for the diamond jubilee celebrations. He is currently understood to be on compassionate leave.
Senior courtiers tell the Royalist that William is committed to his current role as a search and rescue pilot until mid-2013, and there is no possibility of him seeking special treatment or early release.
Kate is thought to be eight weeks pregnant, and the baby is expected to be born in June.
Although Kate and William have enjoyed the privacy of their rented farmhouse on Anglesey, it is unlikely any new mum would choose to be so far from friends and family while her husband was engaged in 96-hour round the clock shifts. The renovations at Kensington palace’s apartment 1A are expected to be complete early in the new year, increasing speculation that William is ready to call it a day in Wales and move back to London full-time.
But, rather than start working as a full-time royal, sources are suggesting that William may continue with his military career.
The Duke is serving in the RAF on secondment from the Household Cavalry, and if he decided to return to his regiment he would be based in either London or Windsor, which could allow for him to continue his military career while being based at Ken palace.
