Kate Middleton and Prince William have been on their summer holidays since mid-July, but William is planning his return to work on Friday 5 September. On Wednesday, they shared that their plans for the final week of summer include catching some events from the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics in a post to their social media accounts wishing luck to the members of Team Great Britain.
“Looking forward to another few weeks of incredible sport!” they said in a post signed W and C, indicating that they sent it personally. “Wishing the very best of luck to our @ParalympicsGB athletes and all those competing at #Paris2024.”
Though this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place across the English Channel, neither William nor Kate travelled to see Team GB compete during the two weeks of the Olympic Games. Instead, the royals were represented by Princess Anne, a former Olympian and member of the International Olympics Committee since 1988, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, a patron of British Cycling who was in the stands when the women’s sprint cycling team took home a gold medal. But as the games came to a close earlier this month, William (sporting a vacation beard) and Kate joined Snoop Dogg and David Beckham in a video congratulating Team GB on their successes.
Over the weekend, the couple were photographed on their way to Crathie Kirk, the parish church closest to the Balmoral Castle, where the family is visiting with King Charles III and Queen Camilla. But next week, William will make his return to royal duties to attend an event for Homelessness: Reframed, an art show at the Saatchi Gallery organized by his charity, Homewards.
The royals will be represented at the Paralympic Games by Sophie’s husband, Prince Edward, who has been patron of the British Paralympic Association since 2003. To mark the beginning of competition on Thursday, the prince released a statement wishing luck to Team GB’s competitors.
“To all members of the Paralympics GB team heading for Paris, whether athletes, officials or staff, I want to wish you the very best of luck at the Paralympic Games,” it read. “Particular congratulations to all athletes on being selected: you now have the chance to compete against the very best in the world and, indeed, to win. More importantly, we want you to go out there to achieve your best, to make us proud and to inspire the next generation.”
This feature originally appeared on Vanity Fair.
Viewers cannot get over Will's new unshaved look.
