Personally, I'm never one to miss a party. Pineapple chunks and cheese on a stick? Sign me up! But, it seems the same can't be said for Prince William and Kate Middleton who this week missed out on a royal reception at Windsor Castle.
On Tuesday 21 March, a handful of senior royals attended a service and reception for the Royal Victorian Order, held at St George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor. The event – which only takes place once every four years – is usually attended by those who hold the Royal Victorian Order honour, which was founded by Queen Victoria in 1896 as a way to recognise a wide variety of service to the Sovereign and the Royal Family.
Some of the royals in attendance at this week's service included King Charles III, Princess Anne and the newly-appointed Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. But, the Prince and Princess of Wales were noticeably missing, despite both of them being members of the Royal Victorian Order.
As for why the pair were not at the service, it seems they were otherwise engaged. At the same time as the event, Kate headed to London as she launched a business task force focussed on early childhood, following on from the launch of her Shaping Us project, which she recently described as her "life's work".
Meanwhile, William hosted a meeting as part of his role as President of the Earthshot Prize. He later made a surprise visit to Poland to meet British troops stationed near the border of Ukraine.
