Who Was Prince William Godfather and Why Wasn't William at the Memorial Service?
The future king was most likely attending to the future queen so he missed out on the service for his godfather.
Published Feb. 27 2024, 4:53 p.m. ET
Prince William was not able to attend the service honoring his godfather King Constantine of Greece, a fellow royal and second-cousin to King Charles III. While his absence was not explicitly explained, the prince is most likely tending to a closer family member.
William's wife, Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, had abdominal surgery on Jan. 17 and was in hospital for the next 12 days. The Royal Family announced the Princess was recovering at home on Jan. 29 via Twitter. Since then Prince William has made all public appearances sans Princess Kate.
But who was the godfather of the possible future King of England?
Constantine II was a King and a Godfather.
Prince Williams’ godfather is better remembered as the last King of Greece, Constantine II. He reigned from Mar. 6, 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on June 1, 1973. In 1967 Constantine and his wife, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, moved out of Greece to Rome before settling in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London. King Constantine was a close friend of his second cousin, Charles III, then Prince of Wales, which led to Constantine becoming a godfather to Prince William.
Constantine II passed away in 2023.
Constantine II was hospitalized soon after a Covid-19 diagnosis and died at the age of 82 on Jan. 10, 2023, after years of heart problems and decreased mobility. Though he wasn’t a reigning king for nearly the last 50 years of his life, he kept the title of King of the Hellenes due to Greek Orthodox tradition.
Prince William was not at the service.
On Tuesday, Feb. 27 Kensington Palace made the announcement, "Unfortunately, the Prince of Wales is no longer able to attend the King Constantine Memorial Service this morning due to a personal matter." He was previously scheduled to attend and do a reading at the service.
According to CNN, Prince William's absence is not related to his father's recent cancer diagnosis. King Charles III is currently undergoing treatment.
According to Town & Country, some of the people that attended the Windsor Castle memorial service for King Constantine included Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and royals from around the world, including King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Queen Noor of Jordan, and the surviving members of the Greek royal family (Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, their five children, and nine grandchildren).
The future king is relatively private.
Though he's lived a life in the spotlight, or maybe because of it, Prince William and Princess Kate aren't exactly forthcoming about every aspect of her illness. According to a report from CBS, while it is a bit surprising that a seemingly healthy 42-year-old princess is out of sight for over two months, their desire to stay mum on the issue is par for the course.
"The tradition has always been to err on the side of caution, and in particular with the royal family, as we know there were instances in the young princes' growing up where they were incredibly scarred by media speculation about their mother (Princess Diana)," CBS News royal contributor Amanda Foreman said.
