Palace sets record straight with explanation on Kate's absence at Royal Ascot
Despite being featured in the Royal Ascot programme, the Princess of Wales pulled out of the event yesterday, leaving Prince William to attend the racing day solo
Princess Kate pulled out of the royal procession on day two of Royal Ascot yesterday, shocking many eager royal fans and racegoers who were eagerly anticipating a glimpse of the princess.
Kate's absence left Prince William to attend the event solo, joining King Charles and Queen Camilla in the first carriage of the procession.
Kate's sudden absence surprised many people, given the fact that her name had already been printed in the day two programme and shared by the Royal Ascot social media accounts. However, the Palace soon clarified that Kate's non-attendance at the event was the result of a "miscommunication".
The confusion began when the Royal Ascot X and Instagram pages, seeming to confirm that Princess Kate would be riding in the first carriage alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William. However, just moments later, Kensington Palace issued a statement saying Kate would not be coming.
At the time, the Palace suggested that the princess' attendance had actually not been confirmed with Royal Ascot, and her name being printed in the official programme and being announced by racing chiefs at the festival to appear in the royal procession was due to a "communications error".
The Princess was announced to be present in the royal procession at noon before her no show was confirmed by Kensington Palace at 12.20pm: less than two hours before the royal procession was due to begin at 2pm.
A spokesperson said: "We notified Ascot that Her Royal Highness would not be attending. Unfortunately an inaccurate version of the carriage list was issued in error after that notification. The correct list was then circulated." The Prince and Princess of Wales are not expected to attend any further days of the festival.
The last-minute change necessitated a reshuffle of the carriage arrangements, with Lord Soames, a close friend of the King, losing his place to accommodate Prince William in the first carriage.
William joined King Charles, Queen Camilla and Saudi Arabia's Prince Saud bin Khalid Al-Saud for the traditional procession, while an updated list was hastily distributed to correct the earlier mistake.
It is understood that the reason behind Kate's absence stems from her trying to find the right balance as she fully returns to public-facing engagements, just months after she announced her cancer was in remission.
A royal source reiterated that Kensington Palace has consistently stressed the need for 'flexibility' around the Princess of Wales' public engagements.
The source added that the princess completed three engagements in the last week, attending the new V&A East Storeroom exhibition space in London, the King's official birthday celebrations at Trooping the Colour on Saturday and Garter Day on Monday in Windsor.
A source at Royal Ascot said: "Obviously it's a great disappointment the Princess of Wales not being able to attend, but everyone is of course mindful of her schedule and we look forward to welcoming her next year."
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