Prince William took a tentative step on his return to public life on Wednesday with a social media post praising one of England’s leading soccer players who had announced her retirement from the sport at an international level.
William has not been seen or heard from since his wife, Kate, 42, shocked the world last month by announcing she had cancer. He is understood to have been at their country house, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham Estate, with his family for the past three weeks, which have also been school holidays in the U.K.
In a post on Instagram and X, William paid tribute to England player Rachel Daly, 32, who announced Wednesday she was retiring from the international game.
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She will continue to play for the women’s team at Aston Villa, the Birmingham club which William supports.
Daly bowed out on a high, with England scoring a 2-0 victory over Ireland Tuesday night. She said: “I would love nothing more than to play for England forever, but the time has come for me to hang my boots up on the international stage.”
William’s post is likely to be interpreted as a welcome sign that he intends to return to more public facing duties next week, once his kids return to school.
Kate was diagnosed with cancer after doctors found the disease while performing unspecified abdominal surgery in January. After several weeks of wild speculation about her wellbeing, Kate issued an unprecedented video in which she said the cancer had been identified and she was undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy as part of her treatment and recovery.
