Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, will head to the United States next month for their first visit to the nation in three years.
The royal couple, who are expecting their second child next spring, will be in New York Dec. 7-9 to attend events on behalf of the Royal Foundation and other charities, according to a palace press release.
William and Kate also will pay a visit to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center to "pay their respects to the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks of February 1993 and September 11, 2001," the palace said.
On Dec. 8, Prince William will make a side trip to the nation’s capital to attend a World Bank anti-corruption conference about programs to fight illegal ivory trading, one of his pet charity causes. While the prince visits Washington, Duchess Kate will remain in New York to visit a child development center with Chirlane McCray, the wife of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The royal couple also plan to attend a professional basketball game while in New York to support a collaboration between the Royal Foundation, United for Wildlife and the NBA.
The palace statement did not say whether the couple will bring along Prince George, who accompanied his parents on a trip to Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. The couple last paid a visit to the States in 2011, a trip to Los Angeles.
Duchess Kate recently was cleared to travel after fighting off severe morning sickness related to her second pregnancy. Her illness forced her to withdraw from a visit to Malta in September. She began resuming her public schedule last month. The trip to New York will be Kate's first.
Follow TODAY.com writer Eun Kyung Kim on Twitter or on Google+.