Prince William Attends Prince George’s Godfather’s Breathtaking Royal Wedding Amid Prince Harry’s Absence

Jun 10, 2024 by apost team

Early 2024 saw the British royal family rocked by news of serious health issues. Buckingham Palace announced on Jan. 17, 2024, that King Charles III was scheduled to undergo hospital treatment the following week for an enlarged prostate. The next day, his wife, Queen Camilla, said Charles was feeling “fine” and “looking forward to getting back to work.” 

That same day, Kensington Palace revealed in a statement that the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, had undergone abdominal surgery that had been scheduled the day prior at the London Clinic. It said the surgery had been “successful” and that the princess would remain at the hospital for a 10–14-day recovery period. 

News of the pair’s hospitalization led to an outpouring of well wishes and support from their supporters across the world. However, things turned out to be as saddening as anyone could have expected.

In February 2024, it was revealed that King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer. Following that, the public became very interested in knowing how Kate had been doing after she hadn’t been seen publicly for some time. After weeks of speculation, Kate squashed the rumors and appeared in a tearful video announcing her own cancer diagnosis. 

In the meantime, Prince William has stepped up his duties, along with Queen Camilla, as the busiest senior working royals in the past few months. On June 7, 2024, William attended the royal wedding of the seventh Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, and his wife, Olivia Henson. Keep reading to learn more about the royal wedding and what in particular had royal fans talking.

GB News correspondent Cameron Walker reported that Olivia arrived at a “very windy” Chester Cathedral in Chester, Cheshire, England. The breathtaking bride’s dress was designed by renowned fashion designer Emma Victoria Payne. 

The dress was customized with hand-drawn floral motifs, and edgings reimagined from Olivia's great-great-grandmother’s veil from around 1880.

Olivia wore a Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara made for Grosvenor brides to wear on their wedding day; the accessory has been in the family’s possession since it was created in 1906. As for Olivia's choice of flowers, she had freshly picked flowers from Eaton Hall gardens, including Meadow grass, Ox-eye daisies, Iris, Rose, Clematis, Mock orange, Scabious, Sweet Pea, Astrantia, Martagon lily and Love in a mist. 

The bride reportedly arrived in a black car with her father, Rupert Henson, holding her bouquet of flowers before her arrival. After they exchanged vows, the newly married couple walked out and waved to everyone who attended. 

On social media, many people noticed Olivia's specific choice of footwear for her big day. Instead of opting for traditional white shoes, she chose to wear “dark clunky heeled shoes,” which one person described as a “fashion miss.” 

“Really surprised at the shoes. I've never seen dark shoes with a white wedding dress. Strange choice. But she's still a beautiful bride,” someone commented on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

The Times reported that guests were treated to an intimate reception at an 11,000-acre Grosvenor estate near Eaton Hall. Prince William attended the wedding as he served as an usher to the groom. 

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William’s attendance at the wedding was crucial as, growing up, his family was good friends with the Grosvenors. When Princess Diana passed away, the Grosvenors apparently hung out with William and Harry amid the challenging times. 

Notably, Hugh is also the godfather to William and Harry’s eldest children, Prince George and Prince Archie. Royal expert Angela Levin discussed William’s presence at the wedding and Harry’s absence on GB News. 

According to her, Harry “does not wish to disturb everybody" by attending the wedding. However, she also thinks there’s another reason why. 

"Who isn't going to go is Harry because he says he doesn't want to make a fuss there and disturb everybody. But I don't think he's had an invitation,” Levin concluded. "They realised it would be very awkward for the royals to have him here, either for their own reasons or Harry said they don't want to come, but I think it's the former."

Meanwhile, a friend of Hugh's explained to The Times about Harry’s absence at the wedding: "He wishes they could put their heads together and patch things up, but realises it's unlikely to happen before the wedding."

However, on social media, the public had differing opinions and beliefs about the Duke of Sussex’s absence. 

“I’m sure this was Meghan’s decision not Harry’s,” someone said on X, while another person agreed, saying "She won't let him go! He isn't allowed to have friends!"

In addition to Harry, King Charles was also absent from the wedding despite being Hugh's godfather. Levin said this might be rooted in previous drama in which King Charles and Queen Camilla had a minor controversy ahead of Lady Tamara Grosvenor and Edward Van Cutsem's wedding in 2004. Back then, the now-king and queen were still unmarried and, therefore, weren't seated next to one another at the ceremony, which eventually prompted them not to attend at all. 

Congratulations to Hugh Grosvenor and Olivia Henson! What do you think of Prince William’s attendance at the royal wedding? Do you think Prince Harry should have attended too? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other royal family fans out there!