'Extremely sorry': Prince William cancels another engagement at the last minute

Prince William has been forced to cancel an engagement, planned for Thursday, at the last minute.

"We look forward to rescheduling in the future and are extremely sorry to anyone who has already travelled," Kensington Palace told Hello! magazine.

But unlike the last time he pulled out of an event at the 11th hour, due to Kate's cancer diagnosis, this wasn't a cancellation due to a family emergency.

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This time the Prince of Wales pressed pause on an engagement, which was set to take place in another part of the UK, due to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling an election for July 4.

William is following in his dad's footsteps, with King Charles and Queen Camilla similarly rescheduling their engagements for the next few weeks, so they don't "distract from the election campaign".

"Following the Prime Minister's statement this afternoon calling a General Election, The Royal Family will – in accordance with normal procedure – postpone engagements that may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said in a statement.

"Their Majesties send their sincere apologies to any of those who may be affected as a result."

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King holds hands of cancer patients on return to public duties

It's understood the monarchs and members of the royal family will still attend the 80th anniversary of D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy in early June.

However, it does raise questions about the upcoming State Visit from the Japanese Emperor, which is currently scheduled for June.

There has been no word as yet on whether that will also be rescheduled.

Sunak met with King Charles for about 15 minutes on Wednesday to request he dissolve parliament to allow for six weeks of campaigning before the general election.

It's understood as a result the King's weekly audience with the PM, which was set for Wednesday evening, did not take place.

If Sunak loses in the upcoming election, it will mark the King's third prime minister in his short reign so far - having started with Liz Truss before she was ousted in favour of Sunak by the conservative party.

Truss was formally appointed by the late Queen Elizabeth II just two days before she died, following Boris Johnson's resignation.

The meeting at Balmoral Castle turned out to be Her Majesty's final engagement.

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