Kate Middleton pulled out of her scheduled appearance at the Royal Ascot horse-racing festival at the last minute, leaving Prince William to attend the event alone. The royal palace hasn’t given an official explanation of Middleton’s absence during the event. Interestingly, William will not be accompanied by Middleton when attending some of his passion projects over the next week.
In March 2024, the future queen of the United Kingdom announced to the world that she had cancer. She had revealed at the time that her plans, as part of her royal duties, are subject to change due to her health crisis. It almost explains away her absence at the Royal Ascot, but her absence from next week’s events may have an entirely different reason.
Kate Middleton will be absent from Prince William’s engagements next week
Prince William and Kate Middleton in a still from an interview | Credits: ITV News/YouTube
Prince William has a packed schedule next week as the founder and president of The Earthshot Prize and the founder of The Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife. The Prince of Wales will be part of the London Climate Action Week, which kicks off on June 24.
Interestingly, when William holds discussions with some of the key dignitaries from across the world, he will not be accompanied by Kate Middleton. According to The Express UK, the Princess understands that these climate action engagements are William’s personal passion projects and rarely accompanies him on these occasions.
On the first day of the London Climate Action Week, William will be part of the Leading With Impact event, co-hosted by The Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The event will also be attended by Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. He will join William in a workshop with the finalists of the Earthshot Prize 2024.
On the same day, William will attend an onstage discussion, where he will be joined by Robert Irwin, former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, and the CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi.
The future king will next attend a high-level roundtable on June 26. The roundtable, titled Nature’s Guardian: On the Road to COP30 & Beyond, will take place at St. James’s Palace. The discussion will be attended by government leaders, philanthropic institutions, representatives from Indigenous Peoples, and local communities.
Before the discussion, the Prince will meet with key attendees, including Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of Brazil. His final engagement of the week will be attending the Investing for Impact event at Guildhall on June 26.
Why did Kate Middleton pull out of the Royal Ascot?
Kate Middleton in an interview | Credits: BBC
According to reports, Kate Middleton created panic among the royal staff after pulling out of the Royal Ascot event on Wednesday. She was due to appear alongside the high-profile event alongside William, the king, and the queen. An official carriage list was published at noon that day, which had Middleton’s name on it.
However, with only an hour left, she abandoned the Ascot carriage procession. The royal palace did not provide any official explanation for her absence. A source told The Daily Beast that her announcement left the staff “bewildered and worried.” The source shared that there were rumors among the staff that the Princess was unwell and had been taken to the hospital. However, a friend of Middleton told The Daily Beast:
My understanding is that Kate was basically exhausted after Trooping the Color on Saturday and Garter Day on Monday and couldn’t face it. There are good days and bad days, as she herself has very candidly said.
Middleton announced that she completed preventative chemotherapy for her cancer in September 2024. She announced she was in remission in January 2025. It is possible that the Princess is taking her time to make a full comeback to her royal duties.