Prince William made a rare personal comment to praise wife Princess Kate at a recent event

The Prince and Princess of Wales have been front and centre this past few years, with their official outings and family life with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, never failing to make headlines. 

This year, Princess Kate has taken a step back from public duties to focus on her recovery from abdominal surgery -  not expected to return until after Easter. 

Prince William also took a break from duties in the initial phase of his wife's recovery in order to look after the family, returning to work just last month. 

While attending his official outings solo until Kate is well enough to join him, the Prince of Wales has been including his wife in his appearances, referencing her on the regular.

This week, as Prince William visited youthzone OnSide West, he praised his wife, telling a group of children that he was decorating cookies with: "My wife is the arty one".

"What a brilliant place OnSide WEST is!," Prince William posted to Instagram after the engagement. "This new Youth Zone for 8-19 year olds across Hammersmith and Fulham provides incredible facilities and is supported by fantastic youth workers. It's sure to become a vital resource at the heart of this community."

Princess Kate is not expected to return to royal duties for at least a couple of weeks, with Kensington Palace announcing in a statement in January: "Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."

The statement continued: "[The Princess of Wales] hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible. And her wish that her personal medical information remains private. Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share".

We will continue to update this story.