Prince William Returns to Work After Paternity Leave
— -- Nearly one month after the birth of his second child, Princess Charlotte, Prince William is back at work as an air ambulance pilot.
William, 32, took unpaid paternity leave after the birth of Charlotte on May 2. He and his wife, Duchess Kate, have spent the majority of the month at their country estate, Anmer Hall, bonding with Charlotte and their older child, Prince George, now nearly 2.
William has made a few public appearances since Charlotte's birth in his official royal role, but today marks his first day back on duty with the East Anglian Air Ambulance service, a job he took last August after spending four years with the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue.
The prince spent his last weekend on paternity leave at the Audi Polo Challenge in Ascot, England, with his younger brother, Prince Harry. Both princes participated to benefit their charities: Child Bereavement UK and WellChild, of which Harry is Royal Patron, and Centrepoint, of which William is Royal Patron.
While Prince Harry mingled with the likes of actors Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Hemsworth at the match, William was gifted a pair of adorably tiny, bright-pink Hunter rain boots for Charlotte.
Last month, William accepted another sporty gift for Charlotte, a personalized jersey from England’s women’s soccer team.
"He was saying he's obviously really enjoying being a father, and Princess Charlotte is actually keeping him up and [that is] probably why his eyes are looking a little bit tired,” team captain Steph Houghton told the U.K.'s The Telegraph at the time.
In his day job, Prince William is part of a crew that is “called to an average of four incidents per day,” including, “life threatening situations such as road traffic accidents and medical emergencies,” according to East Anglian Air Ambulance website.
Kensington Palace said at the time of William’s job announcement, in August 2014, that William would be based at Cambridge and Norwich Airports and work both day and night shifts, flying missions in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Bedfordshire.
