Kate Middleton will not attend awards ceremony with Prince William in London tonight ‘due to the children’ Kensington Palace says
- William and Kate had been due to meet award nominees and attend ceremony
- But it was announced this afternoon that Kate will be not be at evening’s event
- Palace says non-attendance is ‘due to children’ but gives no more information
The Duchess of Cambridge has been forced to cancel an event this evening due to an undisclosed matter relating to her children.
Prince William and Kate had been due to meet the finalists of the Tusk Conservation awards and the attend the ceremony in London this evening.
But, this afternoon, Kensington Palace suddenly cancelled Kate’s attendance at this evening’s event.
A spokesman said the cancellation was ‘due to the children’ but declined to give further details. It is not believed the issue is to do with the health of the children.
The Duchess of Cambridge on Monday. Kensington Palace announced today she will not be attending an event this evening ‘due to the children’
William is pictured at last year’s event. He said the awards ‘mean a great deal to me personally’
Kate, whose children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are six, four and one respectively, did however join William in meeting the finalists this afternoon.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘The Duchess is no longer able to attend the Tusk awards due to the children.
‘She will still however meet finalists at a tea at Kensington Palace this afternoon. The duke as patron will attend both.’
The Duke will present three awards before delivering a short speech.
The Tusk Conservation Awards are to honour people who have worked to protect wildlife and habitats in Africa.
William has previously said of the event: ‘These awards which mean a great deal to me personally, play a huge part in our mission to preserve Africa’s precious wildlife for its people.
‘It is vital that we recognise the dedication of these unsung heroes and the bravery of rangers risking their lives, day and night, on conservation’s frontline. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.’
Tonight’s ceremony is being held at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square.
The Cambridges, pictured in Norfolk in autumn 2018. The children are not said to be unwell
Kate and William looked in good sorts when they attended the Royal Variety Performance on Monday night
The royal couple attended the Palladium Theatre in London for the annual event.
The duchess was presented with a posy of flowers by Lydia Jones, 10. while a programme was presented to William by Oliver Hinton, eight.