Kate Middleton was joined by most of her family at her fourth annual Christmas carol service — but two people were noticeably absent.
King Charles did not attend his daughter-in-law’s holiday event on Friday, Dec. 6. While no official statement was given regarding his absence, it is thought that his decision to not attend was intentional, allowing the focus to remain on the Princess of Wales, 42, who was hosting the event.
When both Charles or Camilla are present, the order of royal hierarchy typically takes precedence. However, given that the event is Kate’s passion project and she was the host, it makes sense that she and Prince William would be the senior-most royals in attendance.
Charles and Camilla also didn’t attend last year’s service. Last year, the King was carrying out an outing at his Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire, which is over 100 miles away from Westminster Abbey in London, where the carol service was taking place.
Additionally, Queen Camilla, 77, is still recovering from a recent bout of pneumonia and has been scaling back her public appearances as she continues to recover.
Both Kate and Charles have had a difficult year in the wake of their undisclosed for of cancer diagnoses. bond might grow stronger as they both navigate cancer during the first time in the monarchy’s history that two senior royals are facing the diagnosis simultaneously.
“He has always had a very good bond with her. I don’t think it is presumptuous to say that she is like the daughter he never had,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith previously told PEOPLE. “He shares with William an impulse to protect her. They are in this together, Kate and the King.”
Apart from being King and future queen, they are also “two patients going through a common health experience,” says a royal source, noting they “are bound to have a close connection… I imagine there was some comfort [for Kate] in seeing… that it was possible to balance some private information without there being an imperative to share all.”
On Nov. 5, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying that “Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest.”
“With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week, but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal,” the statement continued. “She apologizes to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”
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She continued to cancel appearances into the next month, with the palace announcing on Dec. 2 that, following her doctor’s recommendation, the Queen would no longer attend the official kickoff of Dec. 3’s Qatar state visit to the U.K. At a palace event later that evening, she told guests that she was suffering from a type of pneumonia.
Though the King and Queen didn’t attend the annual holiday tradition, Princess Kate was joined by her husband, Prince William, and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The outing marks the first time the three siblings have made a joint public appearance since Trooping the Colour in June.
Several of her closest family members were also in attendance, including her mother and father, Carole and Michael Middleton and siblings Pippa and James Middleton.
Continuing tradition, Princess Kate arrived at Westminster Abbey first to greet volunteers and guests, while her family joined her just before the service started.
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