Prince William attended his first event after taking over an important role from King Charles.
On Thursday, the Prince of Wales was at the Royal Society in London, a few days after his father made him Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps.
Prince William at the Royal Society in London
At the event, Prince William celebrated global efforts to fight antimicrobial resistance, which is when germs that cause infections become resistant to antibiotics, making infections hard or impossible to treat.
The prince also talked about the importance of building better health systems, ensuring food security, and addressing climate change.
When he arrived, Prince William greeted guests with handshakes and took his seat in the front row at the conference titled “The World Together Solving the Antibiotic Emergency.”
He listened to stories from people who survived antimicrobial resistance and updates from Lord Darzi on The Fleming Initiative.
This initiative aims to create a global movement to tackle antimicrobial resistance, and Prince William became a patron of the cause last July.
Prince William looked cheerful in a black suit, white shirt, and a patterned blue tie.
After his speech at the conference, he hosted a private reception at St James’ Palace for the attendees.
Prince William Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps
Earlier in the week, King Charles and Prince William appeared together at the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop.
The king arrived by helicopter, and there were light-hearted moments between father and son as Charles officially passed on the Colonel-in-Chief role, which he held for 31 years, to William.
This role was once expected to go to Prince Harry, who served with the regiment during his second tour of Afghanistan, but he stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
King Charles expressed mixed emotions about the handover.
“It is a joy to be with you even briefly on this occasion but also it is tinged with great sadness after 32 years of knowing you all, admiring your many activities and achievements. I do hope you’ll go from strength to strength in the future with the Prince of Wales as your new colonel-in-chief. The great thing is he’s a very good pilot indeed – so that’s encouraging,” He said.