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William and Kate wave as they arrive in Merseyside© Getty

The Prince and Princess of Wales prepare to return to royal duties after Christmas break

Prince William and Kate spent Christmas in Norfolk

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
January 8, 2024
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The Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to return to royal duties in the coming week after enjoying the Christmas break in Norfolk with their three children.

Prince William and Kate were among the royals to attend church on Christmas Day in Sandringham along with Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis.

Kate will celebrate her 42nd birthday on Tuesday 9 January, while the children will be preparing to head back to school like millions of youngsters around the UK.

But what's in the diary for the Waleses in the coming months?

HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash said: "The Prince and Princess have a very packed schedule between now and Easter, which they are excited about. They'll be out and about a lot and focusing on two of their key projects - Homewards, for William, and Shaping Us and early childhood for Kate.  

"They'll also be preparing for their first official overseas visit at the request of the Government since taking on their new roles, so there will be a lot of activity going on behind the scenes."

As the King and Queen will reportedly be travelling to Australia later this year, a trip to Italy could be on the cards for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince and Princess of Wales walk to church with their children© Getty
William and Kate with their children on Christmas Day

In 2023, William made solo visits to Poland, New York, Singapore and Kuwait. He and Kate attended Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa Al Saif's wedding in Jordan last June but there was no major joint tour for the couple.

Prince William greeted members of the public during his visit to Jewel Changi Airport© Getty Images
Prince William travelled to Singapore for the Earthshot Prize Awards in November

It was a year that saw both William and Kate launch their two key initiatives – Homewards and Shaping Us respectively.

The Princess' Christmas carol concert in December celebrated those supporting children and families, including midwives, nursery teachers and baby bank volunteers.

William, George, Charlotte, Louis and Kate holding candles at carol service© Getty
William and Kate were joined by George, Charlotte and Louis at the carol concert

Kensington Palace released footage of George, Charlotte and Louis helping their mother Kate out at a baby bank charity in Holyport near Maidenhead. Watch the clip below…

WATCH: George, Charlotte and Louis volunteer with Kate at baby bank

Co-CEO of The Baby Bank, Lauren Hall, exclusively told HELLO! at the time:  "It's the second time that the Princess of Wales has visited us this year. She came I think it was April time previous to that… And she mentioned then that she would like to come back and bring the kids.

"They were really excited to help out, which was lovely… Charlotte seems to quite like organising things and was very keen to do some bags for people of her own age as well as some younger, more baby ones. She was quite keen to do a little clothing pack for a baby.

"And then Louis was obviously very enthusiastic. As soon as he saw the toys, [he] was straight over, picking out all the huge animals which was quite entertaining."

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales launched his major drive to end homelessness, Homewards, in June, where he made a whistle stop tour of the four home nations.

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