Prince William will begin his government scheduled tour of Africa this coming Monday, but according to Express , his wife will not be joining him. Kate Middleton, 36, will be staying behind at their home in Kensington Palace because of the couple’s agreement to keep certain projects “that are close to their hearts” separate from tours and projects they handle together. While the issue of mental health is one that Kate champions, Prince William focuses a lot of his efforts on wildlife and nature.
“Typically William has always worked solo in his fight against illegal wildlife trade, which is why we wouldn’t see Kate join him on a trip like this or him joining Kate on her own personal projects, such as promoting the importance of perinatal, maternal and children’s mental health,” said Christina Reeves, an expert on the Royal family.
On Thursday, the palace confirmed William’s tour via Twitter.
“The Duke of Cambridge will visit Namibia, Tanzania, and Kenya from Monday 24th to Sunday 30th September. The private working trip is being made as [United For Wildlife] President and [Tusk Trust] Patron ahead of the 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London #EndWildlifeCrime.”
Prince William’s Africa trip to focus on poaching fight https://t.co/wN3NmPmmxj @IOL #EndPoaching #EndWildlifeTrafficking pic.twitter.com/Pz8iHly8DV
— World Wildlife Day (@WildlifeDay) September 19, 2018
Though it’s been announced that much of William’s schedule will be kept private, he is set to meet with the Irish Guard in Kenya. Since he is colonel of the Irish Guards, “he will learn how British and Kenyan troops are working together to improve performance on operations,” according to ITV . Additionally, he will visit Dar es Salaam, a coastal city in Tanzania, where he will learn about what the country is doing to address the illegal trade of wildlife. He will also speak with the country’s president, John Magufuli, about the issue.
Additionally, the Duke will meet with several dignitaries in Namibia, including the country’s vice president, Nangolo Mbumba. During his visit, William will attend an event that is meant to celebrate the relationship between the United Kingdom and Namibia. The event will be held at the home of Britain’s High Commissioner, Kate Airey.
In addition to the couple keeping their passion projects separate, Kate is still on maternity leave and is not fully set to return to royal duties until October. The Duchess of Cambridge had the couple’s third child, Prince Louis, at the end of April. Though Kate has attended a few family events, such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May and Trooping the Colour, she has stayed mostly out of the public eye.
