King Charles was at Windsor Castle but left before the memorial service for his second cousin King Constantine of Greece, it was revealed today.
Queen Camilla led members of the Royal Family at the event in absence of both the Prince of Wales and King Charles III, whose cancer treatment continues.
She could be seen wiping away tears at the service to Constantine II of Greece, who died in January 2023 and was William’s godfather.
Details surrounding Prince William’s absence has not been given and it is not known if it relates to his wife Kate Middleton’s ongoing recovery after her abdominal surgery last month.
While the King was at Windsor Castle earlier that day, he did leave before the memorial service, with the reception afterwards to be hosted by Camilla.
Pictured: King Charles III attends the Sunday service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on February 18,
Queen Camilla wipes away a tear at the memorial service for the life of King Constantine
Pictured: Guests attend a thanksgiving service for the life of King Constantine of the Hellenes at St George’s Chapel, in Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Pictured: L-R The Duke of Gloucester, Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Princess Royal are joined by (second row left to right) Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Sarah Duchess of York, Lady Helen Taylor and the Duke of Kent attend a thanksgiving service for the life of King Constantine of the Hellenes
Pictured: L-R: Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece attend a thanksgiving service for the life of King Constantine of the Hellenes at St George’s Chapel, in Windsor Castle
The Prince of Wales, who was due to give a reading, called the family to apologise, while Kensington Palace confirmed Kate was ‘doing well’ as she recovers at home.
Kate will remain away from official royal engagements until after Easter after her surgery.
Prince Andrew was present today with Sarah, Duchess of York and his daughters Princess Eugenie and Beatrice because it was deemed a personal family event.
It is also understood that the Duke of York was attending the service as a member of the British Royal Family and had been invited by the Greek Royal Family.
It comes as a Greek orthodox monk has claimed that King Charles has turned to him for spiritual advice since being diagnosed with cancer.
It’s claimed that the King secretly contacted Archimandrite Ephraim, with whom he’s said to have been friends with for over 25 years.
The King and the Abbot are understood to have grown close after Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
Pictured: Prince Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, Prince of Denmark RE, and Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark (both front) and Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark (fifth right) attend the thanksgiving service
Queen Noor of Khorndania and Kyril of Bulgaria and Dax Miller and Alexandra von Furstenberg attended the thanksgiving service today
Pictured: Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Pictured: Jackie Stewart arrives to attend a thanksgiving service for the life of King Constantine of the Hellenes
Charles was unable to attend Constantine’s funeral in Athens last year because of commitments which included meeting the president of Cyprus. The Princess Royal represented him at the service.
Constantine, who died in an Athens hospital, acceded to the throne at the age of 23 in 1964.
The young king, who had won Olympic gold in sailing, was initially hugely popular.
By the following year he had squandered much of that support with his active involvement in the machinations that brought down the popularly elected Centre Union government of prime minister George Papandreou.
The episode, still widely known in Greece as the ‘apostasy’ or defection from the ruling party of several politicians, destabilised the constitutional order and led to a military coup in 1967.
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales is understood to be ‘doing well’ as she recovers from abdominal surgery.
Earlier this month, The Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Kate joined Prince William and their three children for a half-term holiday to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
‘Catherine is recovering well,’ a friend told Diary editor Richard Eden.
‘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.’
As news that Kate had been discharged emerged, a Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress.
‘The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.
‘The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.’