Prince Edward is the youngest of the Queen and Prince Philip’s children. Unlike his older brothers and sisters, he undertook a more “normal” life working in theatre and television production before becoming a full-time working royal in 2002. But the Earl of Wessex had to pull out of the Royal Family’s NATO reception event on Tuesday.

Prince Edward had been due to attend the royal reception alongside the Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge on Tuesday.

However, the Earl of Wessex was absent after being forced to pull out of the event at the last minute due to illness.

His wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, was also unable to attend due to prior work commitments.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately The Earl of Wessex was unable to attend last night’s reception as he was unwell. There’s no further guidance on this.”

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The Earl of Wessex’s last official royal duty was a dinner held for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation on November 28.

But Prince Edward has not been seen attending any official royal functions since that time.

He was seen over the weekend with his daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 16.

The pair were spotted horse riding together in Windsor on Sunday afternoon.

Although Prince Edward was unwell, the Queen’s eldest two children were at the event: Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, met with USA President Donald Trump ahead of the Buckingham Palace reception.

The 15-minute tea and photograph session with Mr Trump, his wife Melania and the royals, was evidence of the Prince of Wales taking on more of his mother’s duties.

Like the 2018 Donald Trump visit, where the Queen was left waiting when Mr Trump was an hour late, Prince Charles and Camilla were forced to cut the sit-down short when the Trumps arrived at 6.05pm instead of 5.10pm as scheduled.

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Later, Charles and Camilla posted a statement to the Clarence House Instagram account.

The statement read: “Tonight, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by The Queen to mark 70 years of the NATO Alliance.

“Her Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses welcomed Heads of State and Government of NATO countries, and their spouses or partners, in the Music Room.

“An official photograph of The Queen, The Prince of Wales, NATO Secretary General and Heads of State and Government from countries who form the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was taken.”

The post was accompanied by a series of photographs showing the Queen, Charles and Camilla greeting and talking to dignitaries.

Which other royals did not attend the event?

Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew were all scheduled to be absent from the event.

The Duke of Cambridge was away in the Middle East, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently on a six-week break from royal engagements.

Prince Andrew last month stepped back from royal duties after a “disastrous” BBC Newsnight interview regarding his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein led to public outrage and severe backlash for the Royal Family.

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