Prince William and Princess Kate are gearing up for overseas trips next year, with William expressing hope that his wife will be able to do "a bit more next year" following her cancer fight. Speaking on the final day of his Cape Town visit, the future King hinted at plans for 2025, stating that while his children may not join any tours, he and Kate have some travel plans in the works.
The trips are expected to be short and relatively close to home. He said: "Family-wise, you've have to wait a little bit longer because obviously they're at school and I think that takes priority over everything else."
Family-wise, you've have to wait a little bit longer because obviously they're at school and I think that takes priority over everything else." But I think hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so, we'll have some more trips maybe lined up."
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His remarks follow his statement on Thursday that this "dreadful" and "brutal" year has "been the hardest year in my life" due to the King and Kate's cancer fights.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were scheduled to visit Rome this spring and travel to an unspecified country to visit serving British troops, but these trips were cancelled after Kate's abdominal surgery in January. After spending 14 days in hospital, she was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, reports the Express.
In September, Kate announced that she had finished her chemotherapy treatment and was planning to gradually return to Royal duties. However, she is expected to take a cautious approach in the coming months and into the New Year, attending engagements as and when she feels ready.
The princess was present at the Festival of Remembrance last night and is set to join other high-ranking members of the Royal Family at the Cenotaph today. Prince Louis, the youngest child of the couple, aged six, has yet to accompany his parents on a Royal tour.
Prince George, 11, embarked on his first tour when he was just nine months old, with the family spending three weeks in New Zealand and Australia in April 2014. Princess Charlotte, nine, joined her older brother and parents on a Canadian trip when she was 16 months old in September 2016.
This comes after insiders at Buckingham Palace disclosed that the King intends to resume a full itinerary of overseas trips next year, with tours scheduled for both Spring and Autumn. In another part of the interview, William revealed his attempt to adopt a new 'smaller' approach to royalty.
"I'm trying to do it differently and I'm trying to do it for my generation," he stated. "And to give you more an understanding around it, I'm doing it with maybe a smaller R in the Royal."
Elaborating on what this means in practice, William said: "It's more about impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening, and helping people. Family-wise, you've have to wait a little bit longer because obviously they're at school and I think that takes priority over everything else.And I'm also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impacts people's lives and I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world. So that's what I'm trying to bring, that's what Catherine is trying to bring as well. "
He explained that his main initiatives, Earthshot and Homewards, are all about "of trying to help deliver change and make those lives better".
