Editorial Staff
01/03/24 20:18

Editorial Staff
01/03/24 20:18

Kensington Palace reassure public after Prince William pulls out of memorial service

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by Mick the Ram

 

There was concern today (27 February) when the Prince of Wales unexpectedly stepped away from attending a memorial being held on behalf of the late former King Constantine of Greece.

Prince William had been due to give a reading at the service at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, but had called the Greek royal family earlier in the morning to apologise and say he would not be able to join them, due to a “personal matter”.

This had the inevitable effect of sparking fears in the media and general public for the health of either his wife Catherine, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, or his father King Charles III, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.

However, Kensington Palace were quick to play down any fears, saying there was “no cause for alarm” although they did not reveal any further details on what exactly the personal matter might be.

Queen Camilla and several other royals were in attendance as they remembered the former monarch, who was actually William’s godfather, and who died last year.

His eldest son, Crown Prince Pavlos, gave the reading instead of the Prince of Wales.

Personal matter must have been vital

A spokesperson said there was no further updates to report with regards to the King, and that Kate was continuing to do well as she recuperates at the family home in Adelaide Cottage, just up the road from the chapel, in the grounds at Windsor.

With no other information shared, it is not known if the issue relates to his wife, or perhaps one of the children, but it is unlikely that William would have pulled out of the memorial if it could have been avoided in any way.

Camilla leads the family

Queen Camilla led members of the Royal Family as she was driven from the Castle to the 15th-century chapel, and was greeted by the Dean of Windsor.

She will host a reception following the service and along with other family members, will be joined by the late king’s widow Queen Anne-Marie, their eldest son, Crown Prince Pavlos and several members of the Greek royal family.

Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York were among the other royals who attended; along with members of overseas royal families. It is understood that the Duke of York had a personal invite.

Second service Charles unable to attend

King Charles III, who was actually at Windsor Castle earlier in the day, was also unable to attend Constantine’s funeral in Athens last year because of unavoidable commitments, which included meeting the president of Cyprus. The Princess Royal represented him at the service on that occasion.

Close relationship

Charles was known to be close to his second cousin Constantine, who was officially his first cousin once removed and was a keen sailing partner of the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Constantine died in an Athens hospital at the age of 82 in January of last year, decades after being overthrown from the throne in a military coup.

He had acceded to that throne at the age of 23, back in 1964. The young king, who had won Olympic gold in sailing, was initially a hugely popular figure with his people right across the country, but within a year much of his support disappeared and by 1967 he had been ousted.

The new dictatorship abolished the monarchy in 1973 and the former king was forced into exile.

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