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

Queen Camilla led the royal family at the St George’s Chapel service alongside the disgraced Duke of York, who was with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson

Prince William has pulled out of a memorial for his godfather at Windsor Castle, hours before he was due to give a reading.

Palace officials said only that his absence at the service, for the late King Constantine of Greece, was due to a “personal matter” and that the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, “continues to be doing well”.

Hours after the event, it was announced that Thomas Kingston, the husband of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter Lady Gabriella Kingston, had died suddenly on Sunday at the age of 45. The financier was found dead at an address in Gloucestershire; an inquest will be held to establish the cause of his death, but there are no suspicious circumstances.

William’s absence left Queen Camilla the most senior royal attending the St George’s Chapel event, as King Charles is continuing to receive treatment for cancer.

But also present were the disgraced Duke of York, who, with ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, led the main contingent of British royals as they walked downhill from Windsor Castle to the church.

Andrew smiled as he strode ahead of Sarah, followed by their daughter Princess Beatrice with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Zara and Mike Tindall, and the King’s cousin Lady Sarah Chatto.

Queen Camilla leaves St George’s Chapel after the thanksgiving service for the life of King Constantine (PA Wire)

Constantine II’s widow Queen Anne-Marie was joined by their children, Crown Prince Pavlos, Princess Alexia, Prince Nikolaos, Princess Theodora and Prince Philippos, as well as a number of their grandchildren.

Former prime minister Sir John Major was also invited by the Greek royal household to attend the service, as was ex-Formula One racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart and King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

Constantine was a first cousin once removed and a 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 had been expected to attend the ceremony alone, as Kate is taking a break from official engagements until after Easter following her surgery in January.

King Charles has also postponed almost all public engagements while he continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

William recently returned to royal duties after taking time off to care for Kate, who underwent abdominal surgery at the London Clinic for an unknown condition. She remained in the private hospital for 13 days while recovering before she returned to the family’s Windsor home.

Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson lead the way to the service in St George’s Chapel (Getty)

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

Prince William has attended several engagements in recent weeks, including an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, an air ambulance charity event, and the Baftas, where he walked the red carpet alone.

The former couple could be seen smiling as they led the way to the chapel (PA)

There are currently no official engagements scheduled for the heir to the throne in the royal diary.

On Friday, Charles was pictured smiling while looking through some of the 7,000 messages and cards he had received since his diagnosis.

It came days after he carried out his first face-to-face official duties – an audience with prime minister Rishi Sunak and a privy council meeting on Wednesday – since his condition was announced.

The type of cancer he has has not been revealed; nor is it known how many rounds of treatment are planned, but so far he has had at least two.