Prince William heads back to work as paternity leave comes to an end


Updated: August 6, 2013

Prince William is heading back to work. With his two weeks paternity leave behind him, the new dad has said goodbye to his baby son Prince George and wife Kate Middleton and headed back to North Wales to return to his job as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot.

According to reports, William will start work this week, and has therefore had to tear himself away from his new family, who will continue to stay at the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire with Kate's parents, Carole and Michael.

© Photo: Getty Images

But mother and son are expected to make the 270 mile trip to North Wales "at some point" over the coming weeks so proud William can introduce his son to his colleagues.

The visit will also allow the couple to spend time in an area very close to their hearts as they show Georgie — as grandfather Charles expects him to be nicknamed — around the place where they spent the first year of married life.

The new family are unlikely to be separated for long. Over the next month, it is expected that William — known as Flight Lieutenant Wales — will announce his decision to leave the RAF.Coinciding with the Duke and Duchess's move in their new home at apartment 1A in the recently refurbished Kensington Palace, William is most likely to rejoin the Household Cavalry Blues and Royal Regiment at its Windsor or Knightsbridge barracks.

© Photo: Getty Images

Before he moves on, however, William will attend the Anglesey show on 14 August, held to celebrate rural and farming life on the island. The royal VIP will watch gun dog and falconry displays before making a short speech to the excited crowd.

It will be his second public appearance since the arrival of his son.

At the weekend, William joined his younger brother Prince Harry at the Audi Polo Challenge down the road in Coworth, Berkshire.

Speaking at the charity polo match, William said that becoming a father was a "game changer". Telling well-wishers that it was "good to get out the house", he added, "I've got to make sure I'm not late back".

The new dad managed to score the winning goal as he played alongside Harry on a four-man team, but admitted he had been distracted. 

Of his baby son, he added, "He likes to move around a lot. He wriggles a lot, he keeps us on our toes."

"I was in baby mode out there, thinking about nappies," he joked. "I wasn't really in the zone.

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