What we're most looking forward to is that the Princess of Wales, Catherine, has confirmed she’ll be returning to royal duties soon after showing continued support for mental health initiatives alongside her husband, Prince William. At this point, the Waleses are looking for a new advisor, specifically a new assistant private secretary, to join their team at Kensington Palace.
According to the job specification, the role will include organizing the couple’s engagements in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The candidate is expected to bring specific expertise in Welsh community affairs, government, and business, as well as supporting the development of strategies for the couple in their roles as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
As the Princess continues her recovery following her appearances at Trooping the Colour and Wimbledon, her work will likely focus on her early childhood initiatives. She probably won’t have the energy to take on too many responsibilities and will likely opt for a “do one thing well” approach. Catherine, who is still undergoing preventative chemotherapy after announcing her cancer diagnosis in March 2024, is leaning towards this strategy. After all, she is a future Queen.
The 42-year-old could make occasional appearances for other royal causes, such as William’s Earthshot Prize Awards. The candidate for the new role will also be involved in planning the couple’s day-to-day engagements and will play a key part in the team delivering these engagements. The ideal applicant will work alongside other private secretaries, communications secretaries, the visits and events team, and the diary manager to identify, shape, and deliver opportunities. They will also be expected to provide written advice to the couple and senior household officials and offer sound judgments on proposals received.
Although the new hire would be responsible for the couple’s public engagements in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the focus will specifically be on Wales. The couple believes it is essential that their new assistant private secretary speaks conversational Welsh. For the personal specifications, they are looking for a supportive team player with a high level of personal resilience and excellent communication skills.
A royal source reported that William had begun learning Welsh and wanted to deepen the trust and respect of the people of Wales over time. It is understood that he and Catherine want to support Welsh language and culture in their own way, rather than following the customs set by older generations of the royal family.
Sharing an emotional social media statement on June 14, 2024, Catherine admitted to experiencing both good and bad days and mentioned that she’s not out of the woods yet as she takes each day as it comes. The rest of Catherine’s calendar is likely to include more than just early childhood work. She is set to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, the host city for the November 2024 ceremony. The journey isn’t difficult, and the weather will be lovely. If she goes, she might take a bit of a holiday. The time difference is just an hour.
Additionally, there’s Catherine’s Together at Christmas carol service, which has become an annual event since debuting in 2021. It’s expected that she may be much better by then and might participate in the televised Westminster Abbey service.
Months after learning Catherine had abdominal surgery and a subsequent cancer diagnosis, royal watchers prepared themselves for life without the Princess of Wales. Her royal return was speculated but not confirmed. Therefore, while there was always hope that the Princess would return to public life, uncertainty remained. Now, after a stunning victory lap during Trooping the Colour and Wimbledon, she is expected to keep the appearance train in motion.
While no one is pushing Catherine to do anything but recover, she is feeling a lot of pressure to get back to her duties and to be even more perfect than before. She is taking time to heal but is also balancing caring for her kids, being a good spouse to William, and her responsibility to her work. She doesn’t want the world to see her like this and doesn’t want to delay getting back to work as a royal any longer.
