The royal family remembered Sir Donald Gosling at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, Dec. 11, three months after his death in September, but some of the major royals were not at the event. Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Andrew missed the service of the multi-millionaire businessman. Hence, there were questions about their whereabouts.
Prince William is now back in the United Kingdom after his tour in the Middle East. The Duke of Cambridge attended Gosling's ceremony, but he arrived alone, without his wife.
So where was Kate Middleton? According to Mercury News, it wasn't revealed why the Duchess of Cambridge missed Gosling's service, even though the chairman of National Car Parks was a guest at her wedding to Prince William in 2011.
Aside from her, Queen Elizabeth II also didn't make to honor the vice admiral. There are assumptions Her Majesty is busy writing her annual Christmas speech, in which she may address her second "annus horribilis" due to the scandals in the royal family that happened this year.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also missed the tribute to Gosling, as they are on a six-week vacation. Unfortunately, Prince Andrew, who was an expected guest due to his naval service in the Falklands War, didn't make it at the ceremony. It might be because of his resignation from his royal duties over the sex abuse allegations and connection to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, was also not there.
Anyhow, the senior members of the royal family paid tribute to Gosling, per Express. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were there, along with Prince Edward and wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex. A group of celebrities also graced the event, including Dame Shirley Bassey and Jimmy Tarbuck.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr. David Hoyle, started the service to honor Gosling, who was called as a man "who delighted to serve the crown." "In this place of lasting memorial and monument we recall his enduring love of the Royal Navy, and his loyalty to the bonds of commitment that unite it and the traditions that sustain it," he said.
Gosling owned the National Car Park and was a close friend of the royal family due to his association with the Royal Navy. He was named a Vice-Admiral of the U.K. in 2012. Gosling and his business partner, Ronald Hobson, were two of the U.K.'s most successful entrepreneurs.
