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william kate© Photo: Getty Images

Why Prince William and Princess Kate missed out on royal reunion at Windsor Castle

The King was joined by members of his family at St George's Chapel

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
March 22, 2023
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The Prince and Princess of Wales missed out on a royal reunion at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

According to the Court Circular, the King attended the service of the Royal Victorian Order at St George's Chapel and was joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

The service is usually attended by royals who hold the honour, with the late Queen Elizabeth II appointing Kate as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 2019. Queen Consort Camilla was also given the honour in 2012.

Kate missed out on this year's service as she launched a Business Taskforce for Early Childhood in the City of London.

DISCOVER: Prince William and Princess Kate's rarely seen Scottish cottage is straight out of a fairytale

The future Queen joined the inaugural meeting of the taskforce, whose members include Unilever, Ikea, NatWest and Lego, an initiative which follows the launch of her Shaping Us project, described as her "life's work" and aimed at raising the profile of youngsters' early years development. See what Kate had to say to business leaders in the clip below...

Meanwhile, Prince William held a meeting in his role as President of the Earthshot Prize.

Princess of Wales displaying her Royal Victorian Order© Photo: Getty Images

Kate displaying her Royal Victorian Order sash

The service of the Royal Victorian Order is only held at St George's once every four years because the Chapel of the Order (The King's Chapel of the Savoy in London) is too small to accommodate the number of people who attend.  

The Royal Victorian Order was founded by Queen Victoria in 1896 to enable her to acknowledge and recognise personal service to the Sovereign.

LISTEN: What Prince William and Kate are really like behind the scenes

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