William and Harry could stand side-by-side at the Queen’s funeral

William and Harry could stand side-by-side at the Queen’s funeral, as commemorations continue for the monarch

William has officially carried out his first duty as the Prince of Wales, picking up the phone to speak with the country’s First Minister, Mark Drakeford.

Promising to serve with both “humility and respect”, William takes on the duty his father, Charles held for decades.

King Charles III gave his son and wife, Katherine their new titles of the Prince and Princess of Wales on Friday. It followed the passing of Elizabeth and shift in the line to the throne.

William and Kate will spend the next part of their lives focussed on deepening ties with Wales. They have vowed to support the aspirations of Welsh people wherever they can.

In his phone call with Drakeford, William insisted he and his Princess will indeed be travelling to the country “very soon”.

United by grief

It comes just hours after William publicly appeared with his brother, Harry and wife, Meghan.

United by grief, the brothers put aside their differences. They inspected flowers and greeted well-wishers outside Windsor Castle.

It’s an all-too familiar path for the royals, who lost their mother, Diana 25 years ago.

Meanwhile, in a touching tribute to his “grannie”, William took to Instagram to give his own personal tribute to the late Queen.

In the post, he says “the world has lost an extraordinary leader”.

“So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign. I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful to have the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade”, William said.

In a further sign of letting bygones be bygones, reports also suggest William and Harry could walk in to the Queen’s funeral service side-by-side. Plans are set to be finalised over the coming days.

This is certainly a stark difference indeed from the memorial of their grandfather, Philip just 17 months ago. While the two gentlemen did walk close by at this service, they were separated by by their cousin, Peter Phillips.