William's 'personal matter' has set 'alarm bells ringing' according to royal expert

It has been a turbulent start to the year for the royal family following King Charles' cancer diagnosis and Princess Kate's abdominal surgery. As the Princess of Wales recovers privately at her home in Windsor, with her three children said to be 'doting' on their mother, Charles has started his treatment and recently released a video thanking well-wishers for their support. 

But Prince William's decision to pull out of a planned memorial service this week has 'raised questions', according to one royal expert. The Prince of Wales was due to attend a service for his late godfather, King Constantine of Greece, but shared via a Palace spokesperson that he would not be present due to a 'personal matter'. No more details were given, but Kate's health was acknowledged and it was said that she 'continues to be doing well'.

During a discussion on TalkTV, royal editor Sarah Hewson said: "They don’t like to let people down at the last minute, and they certainly wouldn’t have wanted that public announcement that he’d had to pull out, either because of the questions it stands to raise.

"We’re told by Kensington Palace he’s not attending because of a personal matter, and they don’t want to go into any more detail about it. Given the backdrop of the King’s cancer and the Princess of Wales recovering after abdominal surgery, obviously there’s a lot of interest in the movements of the Royal Family, those members that are still out in public, and of course, when they pull out from something significant like this, alarm bells start ringing."

She continued: "There’s been some reassurance from Kensington Palace that the Princess continues to do well at home, and I think the general mood music is this is not a cause for alarm or panic. But obviously when you see a member of the Royal Family pulling out of a big event like this, you do start to question why."

The King continues to work at a reduced capacity during his cancer treatment and Kate is not expected to resume official duties until after Easter, but Hewson notes that William's decision to pull out of the memorial service has led to royal fans asking more questions. 

She added: "When Prince William pulls out - and this was his godfather, the second cousin of the King, a close friend of the King, first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. He was his sailing partner. There are very good close ties between these two families, and members of the Royal Family don’t like to pull out."

We will continue to update this story.