King Charles and Prince William are both stepping away from their public-facing royal duties...at least for now.
After British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a surprise election scheduled for July 4, the royal family has agreed to postpone any and all public outings, People reports.
"Earlier today, I spoke with His Majesty The King to ask for the dissolution of Parliament," Sunak said during a press conference outside 10 Downing Street on May 22, People also reported at the time. "The King has granted this request, and we will have a general election on the 4th of July."
According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, the royal family wanted to avoid engaging in public-facing engagements that could "appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign."
"Their Majesties send their sincere apologies to any of those who may be affected as a result," the spokesperson added.
While the reasoning is sound—and as People noted "adjusting the schedule during election campaigns is standard practice"—news that both the King and Prince William will be foregoing public outings is raising a few eyebrows after news broke that Kate Middleton will not be returning to her royal duties until at least the fall.
According to The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden, the Princess of Wales will likely remain out of the public eye until Autumn, “and only then if she has recovered fully" from her cancer diagnosis.
Royal sources told The Daily Beast a return to public-facing duties in the fall may not happen, either. Instead, the sources claim Middleton may "not appear in public for the rest of the year," adding that she is currently “surrounded by her birth family as she continues a course of preventive chemotherapy."
As for the King and his son, some events will go on as planned, including King Charles' first overseas trip since announcing he has been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer and is undergoing treatment.
Other events on the books will be assessed and potentially canceled on a case-by-case basis, People reports.
Those public-facing outings could very well include well-known events like Trooping the Colour and Order of the Garter Day.
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