REBECCA ENGLISH: When I saw William this week, he looked like he'd the weight ... trends now
He is a man born into centuries of tradition and steeped in duty – but is a husband and father first.
Time and time again over the years, Prince William has made clear that while he takes seriously the burden of his future role as king and his current responsibilities as heir to the throne, he will never put them before his wife and family.
Those qualities will be needed now, more than ever before.
William has always made clear how proud he is of Kate, both personally and in the way she has embraced her role.
The Prince of Wales and Queen Camilla arrive at the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey earlier this month
William attends a meeting in Sheffield this week focusing on ending homelessness in the UK
Indeed not so long ago, while talking to me about his own work, he made a point of bringing her into the conversation, stressing how he would see her sitting in their lounge, night after night, poring over papers relating to her groundbreaking work on children’s early years.
It was abundantly clear he wanted the world to know that she was his equal, and more.
And he has always emphasised that it was Kate who was the brains behind their joint Heads Together campaign with Prince Harry to break the national stigma around mental health.
But more importantly, I would suggest, it is the princess’s grounded brilliance as a mother, and the joy and happiness that she and their family have brought him, that has irrevocably changed William’s life.
He is a child of a broken marriage and warring parents, and grew up in the white heat of the public limelight. Kate’s steadiness, diligence and discretion have been just what he needed as a man.
I don’t think any of us can even begin to understand how difficult the past few months will have been for William.
Just watching what his wife has been going through: The worry of major abdominal surgery, the joyous news that the surgery had been successful, and then the heart-stopping diagnosis that, in fact, cancer had been found.
Add to that his father’s own surgery and subsequent cancer diagnosis... well, that’s a hard load for anyone to bear.
Just this week, I accompanied William on a public engagement to Sheffield to highlight his Homewards project to end the scourge
