( CNN ) -- After more than seven and a half years of military service , Prince William is leaving the armed forces to focus on royal duties and charity work , Kensington Palace said Thursday . William was a pilot with the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force . Known to his RAF comrades as Flight Lt. Wales , he had been stationed at a search-and-rescue base on the remote Welsh island of Anglesey since 2010 , and lived there with Catherine , the Duchess of Cambridge . Prince William : I dream of Africa . In the next few weeks , the pair will move into their official residence at Kensington Palace . The palace statement said that William is considering a `` number of options '' for public service . For now , he will focus on his royal duties . He will also expand on his conservation work , dealing particularly with endangered species . Kensington Palace announced he will become president of a new collaboration among seven environmental groups . The group , United for Wildlife , will focus on fighting the illegal wildlife trade . William will also focus on charities that deal with children , veterans and service members . CNN 's Max Foster : Tired , elated Prince William could be any new dad . William 's final search and rescue duty was Tuesday . `` He and his crew had an uneventful 24 hour shift , '' the defense ministry said . `` Throughout his tour his airmanship , often in the most demanding of conditions , has contributed directly to saving lives in the mountains of North Wales and from the ravages of the Irish Sea . He has earned the respect of all who have worked with him as a highly professional and competent pilot , '' the ministry said . Last year , he helped save a teenage girl who was in danger of drowning off the coast of Wales . The 16-year-old girl was caught in a rip current and rapidly losing strength . William , the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II , had just landed a Sea King helicopter nearby , after going out on a routine exercise , when the alert was radioed through . In less than a minute , he and the crew had reached the scene and a paramedic was winched down into the sea to assist the exhausted girl , who had just gone under water . Royal baby photos : Cozy or just bad ? There 's no suggestion that William , 31 , would ever drop out of public life , but he does crave normality . The prince gets some of that from his role in the military where he 's treated as `` one of the guys , '' but he also gets it from Africa . Dreaming of Africa is one way that William escapes from the stresses he faces , he said . `` I regularly daydream , '' The Duke of Cambridge reveals in the CNN documentary , `` Prince William 's Passion : New Hope , New Father , '' which airs later this month . `` Africa is definitely one of the places I go to ... I have hundreds of animals on my iPhone . So if I am ever having quite a stressful day ... you can put a buffalo on in the background or a cricket , '' he says .
NEW : Max Foster will become president of a group fighting the illegal wildlife trade . William was a pilot with RAF . He was known to his the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force comrades as Flight Lt . North Wales .