King Charles' cousin the Duke of Kent was sadly unable to join the King and Prince William at Sunday's Remembrance Day service.
The 88-year-old, who is still a senior working royal and 41st in line to the throne, has reportedly been dealing with mobility issues that made it too difficult for him to attend.
He was also not present at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening. Other royals and political officials were able to pay their respects in person on Sunday, however, as the King and Queen paid their respects at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Charles and Camilla were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Politicians, the armed forces and veterans were also in attendance at the national memorial service.
As Head of the British Armed Forces, the monarch traditionally lays the first wreath at the Cenotaph and the King looked visibly emotional as he placed the first tribute.
© GettyQueen Camilla, Princess Kate and Duchess Sophie, Vice Admiral Sir Tim and the Gloucesters watched the service from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. This is the second service led by the King following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year.
He, Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward were all dressed in military uniform for the service, which saw around 10,000 veterans and 800 Armed Forces personnel members from all three services march past the Cenotaph, with thousands more members of the public lining Whitehall to pay their respects.
© GettyCharles sent a kind message to his cousin last month on the occasion of his birthday, when an image posted on the royal family's official social media accounts showed the Duke at the Chelsea Flower Show last year, surrounded by greenery, white roses and pastel-hued buds.
"Wishing a very happy birthday to The Duke of Kent today" the caption read.
© GettyThe Duke is the first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth, and the pair remained close until her death. He even accompanied Her Late Majesty to Trooping the Colour in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle in 2021, when there was a reduced ceremony due to the pandemic.
© GettyHe also stood alongside the late Queen to receive the salute from the balcony at Buckingham Palace during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.
Prince Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick was born on 9 October 1935 in London as the eldest child of the late Prince George and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.
© GettyHe also has two younger siblings, Princess Alexandra, 86, and Prince Michael of Kent, 81. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since the age of six, after the tragic death of his father in a plane crash in 1942.
In June 1961, he married Katharine Worsley at York Minster. The Duchess, who taught music at a primary school in East Hull, co-founded charity Future Talent, which helps gifted young musicians from low-income backgrounds flourish.
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