It was the senior royal's first public engagement since Kate's cancer diagnosis - but that didn't stop Prince William putting on a smile.
The Prince of Wales grinned and chuckled on his hotly-anticipated first appearance on Thursday as he helped prep and take out meals to local projects with Surrey-based charity, Surplus to Supper. A video posted to the royals' Instagram shows the 41-year-old cheerfully deliver food to the community, as one volunteer claimed, "welcome aboard!".
The post, shared on the Kensington Royal page, was captioned: "On the road with Surplus to Supper as they deliver freshly-cooked meals to local projects. 10 tonnes of surplus food is prepared and distributed by the brilliant volunteers at Surplus To Supper every week - a pleasure to join them today."
William helped bring in crates and joined the team in the kitchen preparing what appeared to be a chilli, before hopping in the delivery van to bring out meals into the community. The Prince was seen carefully chopping up celery as he donned an apron to lend a hand in the kitchen.
He also chatted to volunteers about why they were supporting the initiative. When asked how his day was going, he said: "Good, it's very inspiring getting to see everything going on over there."
Thursday's engagement was Prince William's first in almost a month, after attending an event aimed at tackling homelessness in Sheffield on March 19. The royal has been a long advocate for ending homelessness, and has previously been an avid supporter of the Big Issue project.
The Prince also appeared visibly moved during the visit when he was handed 'get well soon' cards for the King and Princess Kate, who are both being treated for cancer. Volunteer Rachel Candappa, 71, handed two cards to the prince addressed to the King and Kate.
William, in response, said: "Thank you, you are very kind". When Rachel told the heir to the throne to look after Kate he placed his left hand on her shoulder and promised "I will". Speaking afterwards Rachel, of Sunbury-on-Thames, said: "I said take care of her and he said 'I will'."
Founded in 2017, Surplus to Supper sources and distributes an average of 10 tons of food per week to food banks, schools, care homes, religious organisations and youth centres.
Kensington Palace previously said: "Reducing food waste has a considerable number of environmental benefits, including reducing emissions from landfill that contribute to climate change. Protecting the environment for future generations is one of the Prince of Wales’s key priorities."