The Prince of Wales will pack three engagements into the busy trip
Prince William is hitting the road for a trip to Wales as his work schedule ramps up following the summer holidays.
On Sept. 3, Kensington Palace confirmed that the Prince of Wales, 42, will visit the town of Llanelli in South Wales next Tuesday, Sept. 10, to celebrate Welsh sport and culture and meet people from local communities. In his first speech as sovereign in September 2022, King Charles named Prince William as the Prince of Wales, the traditional title for the male heir apparent to the throne since around 1301 — and William has made many meaningful visits to the country since.
Prince William’s itinerary for his latest visit there will take him to Swiss Valley Community Primary School to meet students who participated in the 2024 Urdd Eisteddfod, a week-long festival dedicated to celebrating Welsh language and culture. He’ll also stop by the Wales Air Ambulance headquarters in his role as patron, and the prince’s visit coincides with Air Ambulance Week, which is especially poignant for the royal.
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Prince William served as an air ambulance pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance from 2015 to 2017 and flew 999 missions, according to his official biography. That post followed his role as a RAF Search and Rescue pilot based at RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales, from 2010 to 2013, where he and Kate Middleton lived as newlyweds before relocating to London shortly after the birth of their first child, Prince George.
While in South Wales next week, Prince William will wrap the day at Parc y Scarlets, the home of the Scarlets Rugby Union team, to celebrate the endeavors of past and present athletes on the women’s team. The Prince of Wales will make the stop to support the Welsh Rugby Union’s “Missing Caps” campaign and will spend time with members of the current international squad, which recently qualified for the 2025 World Cup.
When Prince William took on the Prince of Wales title from his father in 2022, it made his wife Kate the Princess of Wales (like his late mother, Princess Diana) in the same sweep. The new heir to the throne opted to do things differently, including not taking part in an investiture ceremony for his Prince of Wales role like his father did in 1969, when he was crowned by Queen Elizabeth at age 20. Instead, Prince William took on the job in a more low-key way by visiting Wales with Princess Kate as soon as possible following the death of Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 8 of that year.
At the time, a royal source told PEOPLE that the couple were focused on “deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales over time.”
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“The Prince and Princess of Wales will approach their roles in the modest and humble way they’ve approached their work previously,” the source said.
Prince William’s most recent royal duty in Wales was a trip to RAF Valley in Anglesey (his former workplace!) on July 9. It was especially memorable as it marked his first time visiting as the Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Air Force station, following his appointment to the post from King Charles in August 2023.
The Prince of Wales’ upcoming trip follows his official return to work following a brief summer respite from public-facing duties. On Sept. 5, Prince William is due to resume more frequent public engagements with a visit to a London art gallery display connected to his Homewards campaign to end homelessness. He’ll make the engagement after his kids Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, return to school for a new year.
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While the Prince and Princess of Wales were most recently seen driving to church near Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Aug. 25, Princess Kate has been outside of the spotlight for much of this year after announcing in March that she is receiving treatment for cancer. At the time, she requested “time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment.”
In a June update, the Princess of Wales said that she had “good days and bad days” and voiced hope about joining “a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.”
She appeared at Trooping the Colour on June 15 and Wimbledon on July 14, but no date has been set around a formal return to public work.
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