King Charles and Queen Camilla will leave his nephew Peter Phillipsâs wedding festivities this Saturday before the guests even have time to raise a toast to the groom and his second wife, Harriet Sperling, at his mother Princess Anneâs Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.
After seeing the 48-year-old exchange vows with the NHS paediatric nurse at All Saints church in the village of Kemble, the royal couple will race off to watch the Epsom Derby more than 100 miles away in Surrey.
I can reveal that one senior member of the Royal Family who will stay for the entire celebration is Prince William. And the reason is most intriguing.
âWilliam and Catherine will be at the wedding ceremony and reception,â I am told.
The heir to the throne is keen to make amends for the fact that he failed to attend his cousin Peterâs first wedding in 2008.
He went to a different wedding instead â that of an old friend, Batian Craig, in Africa. Batianâs Maasai-themed ceremony couldnât have been more different from Peterâs first traditional wedding to the Canadian-born Autumn Kelly, at St Georgeâs Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Peter Phillips is set to marry Harriet Sperling on Saturday at his mother Princess Anneâs Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire
In Kenya, brightly-dressed Maasai elders poured milk over Batian and his bride, British-born Melissa Duveen, and offered prayers for long life and happiness.
A senior royal source explained at the time: âPrince William is going to be out of the country this weekend on a long-standing prior engagement.â
Batian is the brother of Jecca Craig, to whom William became so close before he went to university that they were rumoured to have had a âpretend engagementâ ceremony.
At Williamâs âOut Of Africaâ-themed 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle three years later, Jecca was guest of honour and was seated next to the prince.
His absence from Peterâs first wedding meant that Catherine attended on her own.
It was the first time she had met her then-boyfriendâs grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and was seen as a clear sign that her own engagement would be announced soon.
In the event, she had to wait a further three years for William to get down on bended knee.
He did so at Lewa Downs, the wildlife conservancy in Kenya where Batianâs wedding was held. It was run by Jecca and Batianâs parents, Ian and Jane, in the foothills of Mount Kenya.
Catherineâs presence at Peterâs first wedding meant she ended up appearing in the pages of Hello! because he had sold exclusive photographic rights to the glossy magazine for a reported ÂŁ500,000.
His decision to sign the deal with Hello! caused controversy at the time. The commercialisation of the royal wedding â for the first time in history â upset courtiers who believed the pages of the âcelebrity bibleâ should be confined to WAGs and soap stars.
Prince William was unable to attend his cousinâs first wedding in 2008 as he was in Africa for the wedding of his old friend, Batian Craig. The pair are pictured together doing conservation work in Kenya in 2016
Spread over a staggering 59 pages, the coverage featured what the magazine described as âfabulous pictures of the young Royals at the fun-filled celebrationsâ.
Catherine was pictured laughing, similarly uproariously, with Prince Harryâs then girlfriend Chelsy Davy, as he made some joke. They were also pictured letting their hair down on the dance floor.
This Saturday, William can party safe in the knowledge that Hello! wonât be sold any exclusive photos â as far as we know!
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