Prince William pulls out of godfather’s memorial service due to ‘personal matter’

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The Prince of Wales has pulled out of attending the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle due to a personal matter, Kensington Palace said.

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

The late King Constantine of Greece, who died in January last year, was William’s godfather and was close to his second cousin King Charles.

William, who was due to deliver a reading, called the Greek royal family who are attending the service in St George’s Chapel to let them know he was unable to attend.

Constantine was a first cousin once removed and sailing partner of the late Duke of Edinburgh, and died at the age of 82 in January last year, decades after being toppled from the throne in a military coup.

William was expected to attend the ceremony alone as his wife Kate is away from official royal engagements until after Easter following major surgery in January.

The King was also expected to miss the service as he postponed public engagements as he continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Despite the absences, dozens of foreign royals travelled to Windsor to attend the service and Constantine’s eldest son Crown Prince Pavlos is to step in to give the reading in William’s place.

The Duke of York led family members including his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice, and Zara and Mike Tindall who arrived at the chapel by coach.

The final member of the British royal family to arrive was Camilla, who was driven down from the castle to the 15th-century chapel.

Charles is expected to meet with guests privately as he has been staying at Windsor Castle and is due to leave the residence at some point on Tuesday morning.

William is among the senior members of the royal family who have stepped up official duties in recent weeks following the King’s diagnosis.

He returned to work days after the news broke after having taken off several weeks to care for Kate following her surgery.

The princess underwent abdominal surgery at the London Clinic in January for an unknown condition. She remained in the private hospital for 13 days while recovering before she returned back to the family’s Windsor home.

While she reportedly planned to continue some work from home, she is not expected to return to public engagements until after Easter and has not been seen publicly since Christmas Day.

More follows on this breaking news story….