The Prince of Wales is feeling overwhelmed.

Prince William did not want to handle extra responsibilities while his wife Kate Middleton recovers from surgery, according to a Royal Family expert.

The Prince of Wales, 41, will return to public duties on Thursday when he holds an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, before later attending a fundraising gala for the London Air Ambulance.

But it appears the pressure of holding the family together is starting to feel overwhelmed following the ‘scary’ news about his father, King Charles, being diagnosed with cancer.

The father-of-three postponed his public engagements last month when it was announced that Kate had undergone planned abdominal surgery and was advised against resuming her duties until after Easter.

Royal expert Jennie Bond has claimed that the shock of King Charles’ health issues, at the same time as Kate’s recovery, has left William in a difficult situation.

“This is not a time in which he wanted to take on extra responsibilities, and it’s not a time when he wanted really to contemplate the fact that one day in the very foreseeable future he is going to be a monarch,” Bond said to Ok! Magazine.

“This is a time in his life where we know when he just wants to be a hands-on dad and a very supportive husband. He’ll feel somewhat besieged by his wife being ill and now his father having cancer – this is a scary time for him.”