King Charles will be forced to miss a major event in the Royal Family calendar today, as Prince William and Queen Camilla will take the lead.
The 75-year-old monarch will not be present at Monday’s Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey, but he instead issued a video message assuring the people of the 56-country strong Commonwealth that he will continue serving them “to the best of my ability”.
Since his cancer diagnosis was announced on February 5, he has postponed all public-facing duties, but is continuing with behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers and holding some in-person meetings. Queen Camilla and Prince William will lead the Royal Family at the service, but Princess Kate will not be in attendance – as the continues to recover from planned abdominal surgery, and is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter.
They will be accompanied by Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent. The theme of resilience is expected to feature heavily during the annual celebration, at a time when the Firm is facing unprecedented challenges with two of their most senior figures out of action.
THIS IS A LIVE BLOG… FOLLOW BELOW FOR REGULAR UPDATES…
