Prince William was handed get well soon cards for his wife and father by a well-wisher Thursday as he made his first in-person appearance since Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis. The prince appeared to be taken aback by the gesture, and, swiftly changed the subject, alighting on a pan of spaghetti hoops as a convenient conversational prop.
Although there is no suggestion the charity worker who handed him the cards had anything other than the best intentions, Kensington Palace and William are likely to be irritated at the distraction as they tried to return to business as usual during William’s first job back in the saddle after he spent the Easter holidays focused on his family.
William was visiting food distribution charity Surplus to Supper in Surrey, and was touring the facility’s kitchen, when one of the charity’s volunteers, reached below her food serving station and produced two cards for his wife and father which she handed to the prince.
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William, who is understood to be keen to keep the focus off the family’s health woes as far as possible, responded, “Oh some cards, oh, you’re very kind. Thank you very much, that’s very kind of you,” before swiftly changing the subject, pointing to a tub of food and saying, “Oh you have spaghetti hoops here? I’ve got children, they love spaghetti hoops.”
Sources have told The Daily Beast that William intends to adopt a hybrid working model to enable him to balance his royal duties with the demands of family life. Thursday’s in-person engagement came after a written message was posted on Wednesday in support of a suicide support charity, for which William has contributed a forward for one of their guides.
Later on Thursday, William distributed meals the had loaded onto a van at a youth centre in West London. He arrived in the cab of the van with the charity’s volunteers after driving up with them.
He did not make any further comments about his wife’s recovery after spending the Easter holidays out of public view.
Kensington Palace has previously indicated that William will carry out a reduced number of public engagements as he continues to prioritize the needs of his family.
Speaking after the event, the volunteer who handed him the cards, Rachel Candappa, 71, told the Daily Mail: “I said, ‘Take care of her,’ and he said, ‘I will.’ I was at home at 8.30 last night and I thought I had to do something. This is a chance to give a card directly to the palace officials. I didn’t think I’d be able to give the cards to William.”
She joked she would never wash her had again after shaking hands with William.
