He’d previously cleared his diary in order to care for his wife the Princess of Wales after she underwent abdominal surgery, but had to make a swift return after King Charles’ cancer diagnosis.

Yesterday, Prince William made his return to royal duties with two very different engagements. In the morning, he held an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle handing out a series of awards before attending a glamorous gala later that night in aid of the London Air Ambulance.

The outings marked William’s first engagements since Kate had surgery on January 16 and after previously saying his return to work would be dependent on her care and recovery. It also came just days after it was revealed King Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer, with heir to the throne William expected to step in for his father for some events.

But despite getting back to work, it seems the 41-year-old will not be carrying out more engagements for at least a week. William is set to take next week off to look after his three children – Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight and Prince Louis, five – who are on half term break from school, as Kate continues her recovery.

The Prince of Wales is said to remain focused on Kate and their three children and won’t be rushed into returning to full-time duties. A source told the Daily Mail: “The Prince has always made clear that his priority is to support his wife and family for the time being – and he did not put a timescale on that. He will make a return to duties on Wednesday but you should not expect to see him again for a bit after that.”

Last night, William was accompanied by Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise at a charity event for the London Air Ambulance and gave a speech where he thanked the nation for their support amid the royals’ health worries. He said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all.

And in a bid to lighten the mood after a testing few weeks, William made a quip about how he chose to attend the gala “to get away from it all”. He added: “It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather ‘medical’ focus. So I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all!