Turning 90 is a major milestone, so leave it to King Charles to find a way to properly honor the Duke of Kent. Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin officially celebrated his birthday on October 9, but according to the Court Circular, the king—alongside Queen Camilla—held a reception in his honor at Windsor Castle this week. Quite a few senior royals turned out, but there were three rather notable names who were missing: The Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
King Charles Just Threw a Birthday Party for the Duke of Kent—But These 3 Family Members Were Missing
Here's why
Published Oct 30, 2025
•5:35pm
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The reason for their absence? Duchess Sophie was already scheduled to attend the Country Land and Business Association reception that same night in London, per the Court Circular. As for William and Princess Catherine? According to Hello!, the pair paused their royal duties to spend time with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are on their October half-term break from school. (Not to mention, Earthshot is right around the corner on November 5, which makes next week a big travel week for William.)
That said, there were still plenty of royals on hand. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, turned up; so did Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence. (Princess Alexandra, Prince Michael of Kent and the Duke of Gloucester were also in attendance.)
On the Duke of Kent’s actual birthday, King Charles posted celebratory wishes to Instagram while at the same time teasing that a proper celebration was upcoming. “Wishing The Duke of Kent a very happy birthday — 90 today! Later this month, The King will host a birthday reception for The Duke, who was Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin, at Windsor Castle,” it read.
Cue last night’s celebration—90 years is pretty major after all.
