William is 'holding the fort' as Harry prepares 'to return to the family'

Since the Palace confirmed that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer, Prince William has returned to his royal duties. The Prince of Wales was originally due to take some time away from work as his wife Kate Middleton recovers from abdominal surgery, but has since taken the royal reins in a bid to step up in the monarch's absence.

In the last couple of weeks, he has attended a number of events to represent the family but it was unclear whether or not he would attend the Baftas last weekend. William has been the President of BAFTA since 2010 and is usually at the event with his wife, but given that she is expected to be recovering until Easter Kate was not at the ceremony. On Sunday, he arrived solo and was seated in the front row next to Cate Blanchett, but made an unexpected comment about Kate explaining how much she loves the annual award show. 

In the wake of the news about the King's diagnosis, Prince Harry briefly returned to the UK to see his father, and it has sparked fresh hope that the estranged royal may reunite with his family as he said in an interview: "I think any illness, any sickness, brings families together. I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy."

However, a source has claimed that while William's attendance at the Baftas was an attempt to show the public that he is 'soldiering on', the brothers are still 'reeling' from their fall-out.

An insider told The Mirror US: "Ever the professional, Prince William didn't want to let the side down, so put all of his personal woes to one side, to attend the ceremony. Prince William is determined to soldier on and hold the fort while king Charles and Kate are absent, and it shows his strength of character."

They continued: "It's a duty he takes with the utmost importance and one he will not shirk. Although Prince Harry has let it be known he would be there at the drop of a hat to support the family in their time of need, Prince William hasn't taken him up on that offer as of yet as the brothers are still reeling from their royal fall-out."

According to reports, the Princess of Wales would be open to reconciling with Harry as she 'has faith that the situation will resolve itself in time'.