Thanks to his use of a Chinook helicopter to travel to the Isle of Wight, the world and his wife knows that Prince William was amongst the revellers at the recent stag party of his cousin, Peter Phillips.
However, according to the Press Association, the future king will miss next Saturday's wedding of his cousin and Autumn Kelly due to an unspecified "prior engagement".
The only son of the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips will wed his
Canadian-born girlfriend at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor in an essentially private ceremony which will begin at 4pm. The couple will be married by the Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner.
The
news of William's absence from his cousin's big day is surprising due
to the fact the two young men have always been incredibly close.
Peter
and his sister, Zara Phillips, are widely credited for the way in which
they helped both William and Harry come through some of the most
difficult days of their lives by offering unending support to the
brothers in the immediate aftermath of the death of their mother,
Diana, Princess of Wales, in August 1997.
So
close are Peter and William that, from the moment his engagement was
announced last August, it was rumoured that Princess Anne's son would
possibly ask William to be his best ban (or 'supporter', as the royal
family refer to this role).
As to be expected, the rest of Peter's family will be well represented at the weekend wedding.
