The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge held a private meeting at Kensington Palace on Tuesday night, welcoming Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to their London home. The private, behind-the-scenes meeting was not announced beforehand but was later recorded in the Court Circular – the daily record of engagements carried out by the royal family.
William and Kate hosted the billionaire philanthropist, who is co-chairman and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in their role as patrons of their Royal Foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the world, and Mr Gates is estimated to have given away nearly £30bn to charity.
William and Kate previously pictured outside their London home
William and Kate are now the main principals of the Royal Foundation, following the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan in their roles as founder patrons. The Sussexes split to form their own household and charity venture earlier this year, leaving the Cambridges to focus on mental health, early years, wildlife conservation, young people and the armed forces community with their Royal Foundation.
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The private meeting with Mr Gates comes shortly after Harry and Meghan's names were removed from the Royal Foundation website. William and Kate are listed as principals, while Harry and Meghan's previous work sits within the site's 'News' section.
The royals hosted Mr Gates at Kensington Palace
But the Fab Four haven't ruled out working together in future and they teamed up this week to narrate a short film to launch the Every Mind Matters campaign. The initiative from Public Health England and the NHS aims to help people manage the early symptoms of poor mental health.
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William, Kate, Harry and Meghan provided the voice-overs for the televised campaign, which also features a range of celebrities (Davina McCall, Freddie Flintoff and Gillian Anderson) whose lives have been affected by poor mental health. Shortly after it aired on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Channels, the Every Mind Matters website was down for a short period, believed to have been caused by a surge in traffic.
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