Prince William is stepping up his royal duties.
On Saturday, Kensington Palace revealed that Queen Elizabeth had selected the Duke of Cambridge to take on a new role for 2020.
“The Queen has appointed Prince William as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the [Church of Scotland] this year,” the announcement tweet read.
The Lord High Commissioner acts as the Queen’s personal representative at the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This year’s assembly will be held in Edinburgh between May 16 and May 22.
In this role, William will make the opening and closing addresses and “carry out a number of official functions as the Lord High Commissioner” at the event, according to the royal family’s website.
William is the latest in a long line of royal family members – and the first of the Queen’s grandchildren – to be appointed to this role. Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward have all previously taken on the title, which was most recently held by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry in both 2018 and 2019.
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View GalleryAs William prepares for his new position, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reducing their official roles in the royal family.
Under their new arrangement, which will go into effect this spring, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will stop using their HRH titles, formally representing the Queen and receiving public funds for royal duties. They will keep their private patronages and their Frogmore Cottage home.
In a statement last week, the Queen said Harry, Meghan and their son Archie would “always be much-loved members of [her] family.”
“I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family,” she wrote in part. “It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”
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