LONDON - Britain's Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife, Princess Kate, revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.

In a video message last month, Kate, 42, the Princess of Wales, said tests taken following major abdominal surgery she underwent in January had uncovered cancer, something she described as a "huge shock."

William, 41, has been absent from official engagements since then as the couple and their three young children come to terms with the impact of the news.

In her cancer announcement in March, Kate said it has "taken time" to explain her diagnosis to her and William's children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — appropriately and "to reassure them that I'm going to be OK."

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Although William and Prince George were pictured watching their favorite soccer team Aston Villa play last week, Thursday marks the first time William will make official public appearances since Kate's highly-personal announcement.

He is due to see the work of a surplus food redistribution charity before visiting a youth center, which receives regular deliveries from that organization.

Kate, the former Kate Middleton, will return to public duties herself when her medical team say she is well enough to do so, her office has said, but no timescale has been put on this.

Kate's video included her request for time and privacy as she completes treatment, adding she would return to the public "when I am able."

Her illness comes at the same time that William's father King Charles III undergoes treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. He has also been absent from public duties since his diagnosis, but did greet crowds during a walkabout after an Easter church service at the end of March.

Charles was joined by Queen Camilla at St. George's Chapel; Princess Kate was not in attendance, nor was Prince William or their children. But other royals who turned out for the service at Windsor Castle included Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie and Prince Andrew.

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY

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