Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Princess of Wales will not be with Prince William today when he takes to the polo field for his annual charity polo match in Windsor
The Princess of Wales is set to miss a major annual event with Prince William today as she continues her cancer recovery.
Later, Prince William will take to the polo field as he competes in the Out-Sourcing Inc Royal Charity Polo Cup 2024 at Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park, to raise funds for good causes. Kate, who is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, made a brief return to the public spotlight last month at Trooping the Colour. However, Kensington Palace has confirmed she will not be among the spectators watching her husband compete in the cup. The event will raise money for causes which William and Kate are passionate about supporting, the palace has said.
William and Kate share a kiss as she presents him with his prize at the polo at last year’s event (Image:PA)
Last year, the princess attended the event, presenting her husband with a trophy and greeting him with a kiss. In a statement released last month, Kate revealed she was making good progress but was “not out of the woods yet” and had “good days and bad days” as she continued her treatment. There is speculation Kate could attend the tennis finals of the Wimbledon Championships this weekend in her role as patron of The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.
Meanwhile, William is expected to fly to Germany to watch England compete against Spain in the Euro 2024 football final on Sunday in Berlin. It will be the 13th time William has played in the polo fixture, which is set to generate £1 million this year and take the total amount raised over the years to more than £13 million.
Eleven charities and organisations will benefit including the Motor Neurone Disease Association. William paid personal tribute to “legend of rugby league” and MND campaigner Rob Burrow after his death from the disease last month. Other causes to benefit are Wales Air Ambulance, Mountain Rescue England & Wales, SHOUT, Child Bereavement UK, Royal African Society, Place2Be, Action for Children, The Blackthorn Rally, HMS Oardacious Fund and The Royal Marsden.
William’s appearance at the polo match today comes a day after he apologised for his croaky voice, as he delivered a speech about his mission to end homelessness the morning after the England men’s football team reached the Euro 2024 final.
The Prince of Wales told guests at the event that he had “a hoarse voice after last night”, as he enthused over a “hell of a goal” by Ollie Watkins that fired England to victory. He spent more than an hour at an event in Brixton yesterday, marking one year of his Homewards project and urging experts in the sector to tell him how best to help.
He arrived at the event in a small courtyard garden and made his way around six stands representing the six locations of the project – Newport; the Dorset towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch; Lambeth; Belfast; Aberdeen; and Sheffield – where three or four local experts were ready to speak to him.
The team from Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (BPC) raised the topic of football, knowing the prince is both President of the FA and an avid fan of Aston Villa – club of goal scorer Watkins. “I’ve got a hoarse voice from last night!” William said. “I have a little moment when I thought ‘…he might do this’!? I was willing him on when he came on. It was a hell of a goal.”
Later in the event, as someone congratulated him on the result, he looked delighted but laughed: “I didn’t play last night, I can’t take credit for it.”