Prince William breaks silence after Palace state Kate ‘doing well’ despite husband’s no show for ‘personal matter’

Prince William has relayed a message from him and Kate after Kensington Palace issued a statement about the wellbeing of the Princess.

Catherine, Princess of Wales. Picture: AFP

William, Prince of Wales, has relayed a message from Catherine, Princess of Wales, just days after Kensington Palace issued a statement stating she was “doing well,” amid concern after her husband dramatically pulled out of an engagement due to a “personal matter”.

William, the Prince of Wales, had been due to give a tribute in honour of Greece’s late King Constantine, on Tuesday morning UK time, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Constantine was 41-year-old William’s godfather.

But he unexpectedly left the event leaving Queen Camilla to lead the royal party.

It’s rare for the royals to drop out of events at such short notice.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, is said to be “doing well”. Picture: AFP

Kensington Palace did not elaborate on the “personal matter” requiring William’s attention.

Some speculated that William’s move may have been due to a death in the wider royal family: Buckingham Palace announced that Thomas Kingston – husband of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor – had died aged just 45.

However, the Daily Mail soon reported that William’s absence was in fact not connected to that sad news.

It had been speculated that Kate, 42, was the reason for his exit from the event.

The princess had abdominal surgery in January and is not due to resume any royal duties until after Easter. She has not been seen in public since her hospital stay.

But Kensington Palace on Tuesday insisted that Kate’s health has not deteriorated.

“The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Although, just like with the prince, it did not elaborate further.

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York (2L), Mike Tindall (centre L), Sarah, Duchess of York (C) and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence (R) attend a church service this week/ Picture: AFP

Kate and William’s message

On Thursday, UK time, William emerged after his “personal matter” at a synagogue in central London.

There he met members of the Holocaust Educational Trust which advocates against hatred and anti-Semitism.

The royal visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue had meant to happen on Holocaust Memorial Day which falls on 27 January each year.

But it had to be delayed when the Princess of Wales went to hospital for abdominal surgery, the fuller details of which have not been divulged.

At the synagogue, William relayed a joint message from himself and his wife.

“Both Catherine and I are extremely concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism that you guys have talked about this morning and I’m just so sorry if any of you have had to experience that, it has no place,

“That’s why I’m here today to reassure you all that people do care and people do listen and we can’t let that go.”

Prince William, Prince of Wales wears a kippah during a visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue, in London, on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Toby Melville / POOL / AFP)

Missed royal memorial

King Charles, 75, also missed the service in Windsor, west of London. He was at Windsor Castle on Tuesday morning but departed before the service started.

The King was diagnosed with “a form of cancer” after an issue of concern was spotted during an unrelated prostate operation.

Instead Prince Pavlos, King Constantine’s son, was tasked with doing the reading. William reportedly called the Greek royals to let them know he would be unable to attend.

Accompanying Camilla to the service were Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Zara and Mike Tindall.

Dozens of royals from other nations were in attendance including Spain’s Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Queen Noor of Jordan and Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands.

The Greek royal family does not have an official position in the country following a republic being declared in 1974.

However, more recently the family have been welcomed back to Greece. Constantine II died in January last year, aged 82

Greece's Crown Prince Pavlos (C) and Greece's Crown Princess Marie-Chantal (L) arrive at the church service. Picture: AFP

Kate’s behind closed doors recovery

Princess Kate has been recuperating at Adelaide Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle. She has been recovering well enough to join her family on a school half tern holiday at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, close to Sandringham in England’s east.

Earlier this month, the Daily Mail cited a source that said “Catherine is recovering well”.

“She was looking forward to a change of scene and will be able to take it easy in Norfolk while the children let off steam with William”.

Kate’s absence from the public eye has sparked concern, regardless of the family’s statements talking up her recovery.

She has not been seen out and about since Christmas Day last year, when she and William took their children George, Charlotte and Louis to a church service.