Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s mysterious absence from Commonwealth Day service explained

Other senior members of the Royal Family congregated at Westminster Abbey

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were noticeably absent from the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey this afternoon.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were in attendance for the event, with the Monarch giving a speech to the 1,800 people in attendance.

The Prince and Princess of Wales attended alongside the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

However, Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie were both absent from the event.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were noticeably absent from Commonwealth Day service 

Representatives for the couple confirmed to GB News that the pair are in Italy supporting Team GB at the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, though no official confirmation has been made. The Duke of Edinburgh is a patron of the British Paralympic Association.

Prince Edward was in Italy last month for the Winter Olympics and celebrated alongside Team GB’s first gold medal winners of the two-week event as Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won.

Ahead of the Paralympics, Edward shared a message with Team GB’s Paralympics team in which he said: “I just wanted to wish you all the best for the forthcoming games in Italy, and I hope that just as generally, but also in your individual competitions.

“The Olympic team surprised so many of us, and I know that you’re going to go out there and surprise many as well, and you’re just going to be able to show them exactly what you can do.

“So, good luck, have fun, and however you’re involved in the team, I hope you really enjoy the experience.”

Sophie was also seen in a rare interview, where she opened up on her life as a royal.

Prince Edward celebrated with Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale as they won the first gold medal of the Olympic Games last month | PAShe was interviewed on British Blind Sport’s Golden Legacy Podcast with Alaina MacGregor, where she said: “My role, as with all members of the family, is to primarily support the King and the monarchy.

“That is one side of the focus. But also, we’re lucky enough to be able to fulfil our passions and our interests and these over my time as a member of the Royal Family have developed.

“One of the things I’m doing now is on women’s peace and security in the world.

“We have the most incredible women who work within communities at all levels of society, and they are often at the frontline of ensuring that peace is secure, that their communities are looked after, and also we try to get them around the peacekeeping tables as much as possible.

“Aside from that, also the very sad problem the world is dealing with, the issue of conflict-related sexual violence.

Sophie has recently completed trips to Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and her latest trip saw her head to Kenya and Somalia last week at the request of the Foreign Office.

Duchess of Edinburgh spoke on her role within the Royal Family in a recent interview

She continued: “So I spend quite a lot of time going to difficult countries, trying to highlight the work that is going on there, some of the problems they are facing and also trying to highlight some of the good practice that exists out there.

“Also, global blindness, the world of disability, and food security as well.”

GB News has reached out to the Duke and Duchess’s representatives for comment.