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Prince of Wales pulls out of memorial service due to personal matter

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The Prince of Wales has pulled out of a memorial service due to a personal matter, Kensington Palace has said.

William had been due to attend a service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

But less than an hour before the St George’s Chapel memorial was due to start, it was announced that William would not be present.

Kensington Palace would not elaborate further but said the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, continues to be doing well.

The Prince of Wales called the Greek royal family who are attending the service to let them know he was unable to attend.

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Kensington Palace has said Kate, seen here with William in November 2023, is doing well Pic: PA

The late King Constantine of Greece, who died in January last year, was William’s godfather and a first cousin once removed of the King’s father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Charles, who is being treated for cancer, also missed the service and the Queen led members of the Royal Family in attendance.

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The King reading letters from well-wishers following his cancer diagnosis

Dozens of royals travelled to Windsor for the memorial but Charles – who has been staying at the castle – is not expected to meet them privately.

He is instead due to leave the Berkshire residence at some point on Tuesday.

The royals always face a losing battle

Any change of plans for members of the royal family will inevitably attract interest at the moment with both the King and the Princess of Wales being unwell.

That’s why the palace won’t particularly have wanted to share with us Prince William’s decision not to attend the service at Windsor Castle.

But in some ways their hand was forced. His name was already in the order of service because he was due to do a reading.

And because he now lives on the Windsor estate with his family, if he didn’t go to the service, there may have also been questions about why he wasn’t able to make the short journey to St George’s Chapel.

Now his team are doing everything they can to try and stop speculation about what the personal reason is for his decision to pull out.

We’re reassured there is no need for alarm and that the Princess of Wales continues to recover well from her abdominal surgery.

But with the intense global interest in this family in some ways they will always face a losing battle when it comes to calming the chatter about what is going on behind palace walls.

The Duke of York could be seen making his way into the service alongside family members including his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, their daughter Princess Beatrice, and Zara and Mike Tindall.

The Queen was the final British royal to arrive and the family was joined by the late Constantine’s widow, Queen Anne-Marie, their eldest son, Crown Prince Pavlos, and other Greek royals.

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The Duke of York arriving with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York. Pic: Andrew Matthews/PA

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Camilla being greeted at the thanksgiving service. Pic: Andrew Matthews/PA

The service saw Pavlos step in to give a reading that William was due to deliver.

Charles, 75, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer just over a fortnight ago.

The King is not carrying out public duties or attending engagements during his ongoing treatment.

Meanwhile, Kate underwent abdominal surgery in January and remained in hospital for two weeks before returning to the Wales’s Windsor home to recover.

The planned surgery was understood to be routine and the princess’s condition was non-cancerous, Sky News previously reported.

At the time of Kate’s hospitalisation, Kensington Palace signalled that it would be unlikely the princess would return to public duties before Easter.

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