Prince William pulls out of engagement over ‘personal matter’

Kensington Palace said the Princess of Wales was ‘doing well,’ as Buckingham Palace confirmed the sudden death of Tom Kingston, husband of William’s second cousin.

Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Picture: WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Prince William, whose wife Catherine is recovering from surgery and father King Charles III is undergoing cancer treatment, on Tuesday pulled out of attending a memorial service, citing a “personal matter”.

William’s Kensington Palace office said in a statement Catherine, the Princess of Wales, continued to be “doing well,” as she continues to recover from abdominal surgery but declined to elaborate.

William had been due to attend the memorial at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for the late King Constantine of Greece, who was also one of his godfathers.

The Prince of Wales, who was to have delivered a reading, had called the Greek royal family to let them know he was unable to attend, the palace said.

His absence from the service is reportedly not to do with the health of King Charles, who is being treated for cancer.

Newlyweds Thomas Kingston and Lady Gabriella Windsor leave after their wedding ceremony in 2019. Picture: AFP.

It came as Buckingham Palace also confirmed Tom Kingston, the husband of William’s second cousin Lady Gabriella Windsor, had died suddenly at the age of 45.

Kingston, who became a member of the royal family when he married Gabriella in 2019, was found dead at an address in Gloucestershire on Sunday evening. Emergency services were called shortly after 6pm.

His widow, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, spoke of her “deepest sorrow” at the death of her financier husband as she issued a statement along with other family members, the London Times reports.

Gabriella released a joint statement with her husband’s parents, Martin and Jill Kingston, and his sisters, Joanna Connolly and Emma Murray, which read: “It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother.“Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. His death has come as a great shock to the whole family and we ask you to respect our privacy as we mourn his passing.”

The Palace said that the King and Queen had also been informed of his death.

A Palace spokesman said: “The King and the Queen have been informed of Thomas’s death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family. In particular, their majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.”

His death was not thought to be suspicious and no other parties involved.

This year has seen a sudden shortage of frontline royals, after the almost simultaneous hospitalisations of the king and Catherine earlier this year.

Charles was admitted for surgery for a benign prostate condition last month but subsequently diagnosed with an unrelated cancer.

He has withdrawn from public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment. Catherine underwent abdominal surgery at the same time and is expected to be out of action until at least the end of March, following a two-week hospital stay.

– Charles absent –

In the absence of Charles, the king’s wife Queen Camilla led members of the royal family at Tuesday’s memorial service at Windsor’s Saint George’s Chapel.

Dozens of foreign royals including Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also attended.

Charles, who has been staying at Windsor Castle, was not expected to meet them privately.

King Constantine of Greece, Charles’s second cousin, died aged 82 in January 2023.

The last member of a century-long dynasty, Constantine had reigned for just three years when the army seized control of the country in 1967.

Nearly eight months after the junta seized power, Constantine organised a military counter-coup that failed.

He fled to Rome with the rest of the royal family, and later to London. The junta abolished the monarchy in 1973 and Greeks voted not to restore the royal family after the restoration of democracy in 1974.

The British Crown was represented by Princess Anne, King Charles III’s sister, at Constantine’s funeral in Greece last year.