It was take your grandson to work day on Wednesday! Prince William joined Queen Elizabeth II as she met with several Ambassadors from around the globe. This is a job the 32-year-old royal will one day undertake on his own, but for now, the second-in-line to the throne was happy to stand back and watch his grandmother in her element. The Queen, who has been on the throne since 1952, holds scores of audiences every year.
Though his addition to the meetings was no indication that the Duke of Cambridge will start performing this role any time soon, he looked on as Her Majesty met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Nicaragua, Her Excellency Ms. Guisell Morales-Echaverry, and the Ambassador of Austria, His Excellency Dr. Martin Eichtinger.
Although William stood back for much of the duration of the audience, he did shake Dr. Eichtinger's hand and shared a laugh with Ms. Guisell Morales-Echaverry. William joining his grandmother is another sign of the Queen beginning to hand over more responsibility to Prince Charles and William.
Early in 2014, Buckingham Palace began to merge staff, with Prince Charles, who will inherit the throne when the Queen passes, seeing his aide become the media chief for the entire Royal household.
William, who became a father for the first time in July 2014, is preparing to welcome his second child with wife Kate Middleton. The couple have had the world guessing Kate's due date with some bets saying that she will give birth as early as March. Speaking at a charity engagement at a children's center in Woolwich on Wednesday, Kate gave more of a clue as to when the world can expect their new baby girl or boy.
"I told her she is beautiful and that she's got a tiny little bump," said volunteer Christie Osborne, 49. "I asked when her baby is due and she said mid-to-end of April."
Kate, who was pictured cradling her baby bump during the engagement, was also overheard saying: "Not long to go now."