Kate Middleton Was Absent From This Year's Royal Ascot Events
In mid-June, the celebrations and events for this year's annual Royal Ascot festivities are frequently attended by members of the royal family. During the racetrack's famous carriage processions on June 18th, it became evident that Kate was not in attendance, and reports later revealed that she pulled out of the event last minute.
This was surprising and upsetting for many royal family fans, as the princess is one of the event's most highly anticipated attendees, given her chic looks and wholesome royal family photo-ops. The cancellation was announced via social media when the Royal Ascot accounts posted a new carriage procession lineup without her name in it. However, her mother, Carole Middleton, was in attendance. It was her second time missing the event in a row, after dropping out of last year's processions due to her cancer treatment.
Though the mom-of-three did make it clear that she was going to start prioritizing her health when needed, since announcing she was in remission from cancer, her sudden cancellation with a lack of explanation did have some wondering if there was anything else going on behind the scenes.
Inside Sources Reveal King Charles Was 'Disrespected' When Kate Did Not Attend The Royal Ascot Processions
While most would usually understand Kate's decision not to attend the Royal Ascot event this year, seemingly due to health reasons, royal insiders have hinted that her last-minute actions were not considered respectful by some members of the royal family. This is especially since her father-in-law, King Charles, has been battling cancer himself, but still made it to the ceremonial event.
An inside source to the royals recently told The Daily Beast that "Charles has been very insistent that the show must go on, come hell or high water."
"Kate and William tackle their public duties differently, which is their privilege, for now," they added.
Due to the princess's "vague" reasoning as to why she wasn't at the event with her family this year, some sources are beginning to spread word that this likely did not go over well with the king and contributed to their "simmering tensions."
"I am sure she was genuinely unable to come, yet the last-minute nature of the way it was announced makes the king look disrespected," they told the publication.
"Kate wasn't feeling up to it, but there is no denying that the whole affair was badly handled."