William prepares to move back home

As Prince William finishes up his military attachments, there has been much speculation as to what he'll do next. He's currently on vacation with his long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton, and engagement speculation has reached a right royal fervor this past year. However, he's about to make a move that may quash all that- the Daily Mail reports that he's moving back home with dad.

William recently turned 26, and as a young adult, rightly wants to take more control over his future. He is currently expanding his staff in order to get out from under his father's thumb. "Team Wales" will be managing Prince William and Prince Harry's non-military engagements and Public Relations. They will be based out of an office at St. James Palace - separate from Prince Charles' current office.

On staff so far are Geoffrey Matthews, a management specialist and Miguel Head, one of the MoD's top press officers. Matthews has extensive contacts in the entertainment business and he also happens to be the Chief Executive of Sentebale. He holds the title "Project Manager" on Team Wales.

Matthews is tasked with creating the public personae for the Wales brothers, and Head, as a press officer, will be tasked with selling that personae to the public. In short, the men have their work cut out for them!

While Head will join the team at the end of the summer, the real work begins in early 2009, when William officially leaves the military and begins royal life. By this time, he should be fully settled in to living in his 3rd floor apartment at Clarance House once again. Coordinating this move is 29-year-old Thea Garwood, who was recently offered a position organizing William's diary. Garwood has worked with the royal family before, previously on Prince Charles' staff. Upon her return to the United Kingdom, she was offered a job working for William. A source told the Daily Mail, "She is formidably organized, looks good, fits in well and, more importantly, William likes and trusts her."

Living with one's parents is obviously not ideal for a 26 year old man with a steady girlfriend. He and Kate certainly won't have the privacy they had grown accustomed to while living together at St. Andrews. William's decision to move back home, rather then opting for a place of his own fuels speculation that he'll be putting off an engagement announcement for at least another year. And that would be a smart move- 2009 is looking to be a very busy year for him, as he finds his footing as a full time royal.

It was recently announced that William will begin training with the government - probably within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - after leaving the military in January. Says a senior royal aide, "Prince William's main aim for 2009 is to gain a general understanding of how the country operates regarding the legislature, the legal system and the great offices of state." His work with the government is slated to last about two years - and while there is no reason he can't also get married within this time frame, my gut feeling is that he'll wait. In two years, at the end of his apprenticeship, he'll be about 28 years old - which is right around the time he once stated he'd like to get married. The only thing left up to speculation is whether or not Waitie Katie will stick around that long.

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