It’s been a rather eventful week for the royal family, including Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’s New Zealand royal tour. It seems, however, that some shocking royal news has slipped under the radar amidst all that’s going on.
It all started when royal correspondent Rebecca English of the Daily Mail tweeted that Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth will host a reception for “NATO leaders, spouses or partners, and delegations to mark 70 years of the NATO alliances.” English explained that the 93-year-old queen, the 71-year-old Prince of Wales and 72-year-old Duchess of Cornwall are slated to attend the event and that Kate Middleton, Prince Edward, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra will also help host. Wondering why three of our favorite royals, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, RSVPed “No” to the December 3 soiree?
According to English, the royal trio have their reasons for being absent from the party, which will be held in the Buckingham Palace state room. The 37-year-old Duke of Cambridge will be out of town on a solo royal tour of Kuwait and Oman. Here’s the real shocker: English says that “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have taken a leave of absence from royal duties.” Way to bury the lede.
Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month. Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, [the couple] will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the Duchess' mother Doria.” That means they’re likely going to be in Los Angeles for late November and December, but “a leave of absence from royal duties,” sounds more ominous than a holiday break.
