Prince William has thanked the public in his first comments since his father King Charles was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer
Speaking at a fundraiser for the London Air Ambulance, the prince expressed his gratitude for the "kind messages" to his father and his wife Kate, who recently underwent abdominal surgery
Earlier, Buckingham Palace said a "brief personal call" between the King and Rishi Sunak had been arranged, for the PM to wish the monarch well himself
The PM and the monarch meet every week to discuss government business. The Palace said no such meeting had been scheduled for the next fortnight, but they would talk by phone anyway
King Charles is resting at Sandringham after beginning cancer treatment on Monday
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has been seen at Heathrow, seemingly on his return to the US after meeting his father - but not his brother
William's engagements today mark his return to royal duties after taking time off while his wife recovers from her surgery
Prince Harry has been seen at Heathrow about 24 hours after arriving to visit his father.
His team has not commented, but it seems he is heading back to the US where his wife, Meghan, and children remained during his brief visit to the UK.
Image source, ReutersWe last saw the King yesterday as he and the Queen travelled to Sandringham
It's certainly not business as usual at the Palace, so here's a quick look at what we have learned today:
Watch: Political leaders send best wishes to King Charles
Earlier, we covered how Prime Minister's Questions began with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the SNP's Stephen Flynn extending their well wishes to the King.
Watch the moment here when the politicians express how they're looking forward to seeing him return to his public-facing duties, and back at full health.
Image source, ReutersWe're just hearing now a bit more about the weekly meetings the King has with the prime minister.
Downing Street and Buckingham Palace have taken the unusual step of confirming details of the meeting.
No 10 says Rishi Sunak will now have his audience later today with the King over the phone, following the King's diagnosis.
The prime minister’s official spokesman says: “We don’t in general and we are not going to get into the habit of commenting on the PM’s conversations with the King.
“But we have agreed with the Palace in this specific instance to confirm that they will be speaking on the phone later.”
Previously it had been understood the Wednesday meetings at Buckingham Palace would continue in person, unless doctors advise the King to limit such contact.
Bruce Thain
BBC News
England Lioness footballer Ellen Convery - more widely know as Ellen White - received an MBE this morning from the Prince of Wales.
She said it was an “incredible honour to receive an MBE” at Windsor Castle and she felt “very lucky”.
Asked how Prince William was, she said “I sent my best wishes to the King and obviously to the Princess of Wales.”
Asked how he responded she said: “He really appreciated it. So yeah, it was something that obviously I wanted to send my best wishes.”
Image source, PA WireWe are hearing more from Parliament, where Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer joins the prime minister in sending the King “our very best wishes for his treatment.”
“Across this House we all look forward to seeing him back to full health as quickly as possible,” he says.
Image source, PAA short time ago we heard the prime minister speak about the King in the House of Commons.
“I know the thoughts of the House and the country are with the King and his family," he said speaking at Prime Minister's Questions.
"We wish His Majesty a speedy recovery and look forward to him resuming his public-facing duties in due course.”
Yesterday, the prime minister told the BBC that he was left "shocked and sad" by the news but is in "regular contact" with the monarch.
Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Windsor Castle
Image source, PA MediaEllen Convery curtsies before the Prince of Wales at the investiture ceremony
A steady stream of people were seen making their way into Windsor Castle for today’s investiture ceremony.
Men are wearing suits or military uniforms and many women are donning hats or fascinators. Lioness Ellen Convery - more widely known as Ellen White - is one of those in attendance, as she’s just been made MBE.
As we've been reporting, this is Prince William’s first public event since his father was diagnosed with cancer and his wife underwent surgery. Later today, he will travel to London for an air ambulance gala dinner.
Expect to see much more of senior royals in the coming weeks as they take on more public duties as the King undergoes treatment for cancer.
Image source, PA MediaPart of Prince William's return to duties this morning was awarding an honour to Ellen Convery.
Convery - more widely known as Ellen White - was the England women's football team's top goalscorer, who was key to the Lionesses' victory at the Euros in 2022.
Here is a picture of Ellen receiving an MBE for her services to Association Football in Windsor from the Prince of Wales today.
Image source, PA MediaPrince William today at Windsor Castle making Edward Harley a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
As we've been reporting, Prince William has resumed his regular royal duties this morning at an investiture ceremony in Windsor Castle.
England women's football team top goalscorer Ellen Convery - more widely known as Ellen White - was appointed Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Years Honours. She received that honour today at the ceremony.
Convery - along with other people who have already been awarded honours such as MBEs, OBEs and knighthoods - is at Windsor Castle to receive her medal.
Around 30 investitures are held each year and over sixty recipients attend each ceremony.
We're just getting the first look of Prince William at the investiture ceremony this morning. Here he is making Brigadier Tobias Lambert an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Image source, PA Media
Image source, Getty ImagesPrince William will return to royal duties today - his first public service since his wife had abdominal surgery last month.
The Prince of Wales's return to work arrives at a difficult moment for the 41-year-old heir to the throne.
He will not only carry out engagements without Kate - who isn’t expected to return to public duties until after Easter - by his side. But he will also be tasked with covering some of the King’s public duties in the coming weeks.
William is due to attend an investiture ceremony later this morning at Windsor Castle, as part of his scheduled duties.
Image source, ReuterPrince Harry in London in June last year
Prince Harry flew to London yesterday from his home in Los Angeles, and held a short meeting with the King. We don't know exactly where Harry is now, but the Daily Mail reports, external that he stayed in a hotel in London last night.
According to the newspaper, Harry's friend Mark Dyer believes he would have liked to have had a reunion with his brother Prince William, the Prince of Wales.
Harry is expected to be in Canada next week, for an event marking a year to go to the next Invictus Games in Whistler.
Image source, PA MediaWilliam, Catherine and Harry at the hand over of the London 2012 Olympic Torch
As we reported earlier, the BBC's royal correspondent Daniela Relph described Prince Harry’s relationship with his brother Prince William as still looking “incredibly broken”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Relph says there is “nothing in the diary” for the royal brothers to see each other while the Duke of Sussex is in the UK.
This also means Harry will not be visiting Catherine, the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from abdominal surgery. Relph says Harry was once very close to his sister-in-law.
It is not known if either of the brothers have been in contact with each other in an attempt to find a truce, she adds, and as things stand there doesn’t seem to be any sign of that.
Image source, ReutersPrince William returns to his official duties today, after spending the past few weeks away from the public eye following his wife's abdominal surgery last month.
Catherine, Princess of Wales is recuperating in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate after leaving hospital last week.
She spent 13 nights as an in-patient at the private London Clinic hospital following the surgery.
The 42-year-old is not expected to join William in returning to royal duties for several weeks.
Image source, Getty ImagesAs a reminder, here are the main lines from Monday's Buckingham Palace statement about the King's condition:
Image source, .Don't miss this week's edition of Royal Watch from BBC royal correspondent Sean Coughlan, where he'll be taking stock of a challenging start to the year for the Royal Family.
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Image source, Getty ImagesOne of the people being honoured today in the investiture ceremony being held by Prince William is Ellen White - the England women's football team's record goalscorer who was key to their Euros victory in 2022.
She will receive an MBE for her services to association football in Windsor later.
White started her career at Chelsea in 2005 and also played for Leeds, Arsenal, Notts County and Birmingham before joining Manchester City in 2019.
The striker made her international debut against Austria in March 2010 and went on to make 113 England appearances - scoring 52 goals for the Lionesses.
White is a three-time England women's player of the year. She led the line as England beat Germany in a dramatic Euros final at Wembley in July 2022, in what would be a fitting end to her career.
White announced her retirement in August 2022, having scored 52 goals for England - just one short of Wayne Rooney's then all-time record.
Image source, ReutersPrince Harry's return to London to visit his father represents a "little bit of a thaw" in their relationship, says the BBC's royal correspondent Daniela Relph.
Harry reportedly spent around 45 minutes with the King yesterday at his London residence.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Relph says both Harry's return so soon after the cancer diagnosis and the King waiting for him in London are significant.
The fleeting visit might not seem like much, but she says this is a "father and son who've seen very little of each other over the past four years".
Their relationship has been "incredibly strained and complicated", Relph says, and it matters that the King's younger son came to visit.
But Harry's relationship with his brother Prince William "still looks incredibly broken", she adds, noting there are no plans for the brothers to meet.
Image source, ReutersFollowing the revelation of the King's cancer diagnosis on Monday, yesterday did not quite see the same flurry of headlines.
But for anyone catching up on the story, here's a quick summary of what happened: