Who is Tony Hudgell? King Charles sends heartfelt message to nine-year-old double amputee boy who missed garden party

The King and Queen of England hosted a first major garden party of 2024 on Wednesday and welcomed more than 8,000 guests, including Princess Anne and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, and his wife, Duchess Sophie .

Accompanied by Queen Camilla, King Charles presided over celebrations for the holiday, which almost coincided with Prince Harry’s Thanksgiving ceremony for the Invictus Games at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The family reunion was a moving show of solidarity following King’s return to royal duties after being diagnosed with cancer in February.

It wasn’t just Prince Harry who missed the party as he went to St Paul’s Cathedral with relatives of his future mother Diana. A nine-year-old boy also missed the royal gathering at Buckingham Palace.

Read also: King Charles will not see Prince Harry because of Queen Camilla, says the monarch’s friend

Royal family react after Tony Hudgell’s absence from party

Tony Hudgell, a double amputee who lost both his legs due to the cruelty of his biological parents, was invited to the party. However, Hudgell and his adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, were unable to attend the party due to traffic delays during their trip to London.

Speaking to X, formerly Twitter, Paula Hudgell explained: “Stuck on the M20 for 2 hours, I won’t be attending the King’s Garden Party. »

The tweet featured a photo of Tony wearing a blue t-shirt and black sunglasses.

Surprisingly, the royal family’s official X account reacted to the tweet, writing: “Sorry to hear that, Tony! We were looking forward to seeing you too.”

“Want to try again another day?” Leave it to us…”

Expressing gratitude for her response, the mother replied: “Thank you so much for this wonderful response, we were all very disappointed and flat tonight. This tweet certainly lifted our spirits and Tony is going to bed much happier now.

Meanwhile, reacting to the post, one royal fan wondered: “Who is this cute kid?”

“What a beautiful gesture from His Majesty! another wrote.

“What a fabulous response, just the little things that make someone’s day!” another intervened.

Who is Tony Hudgell?

Tony, from Maidstone, Kent, wears prosthetics because he suffered serious injuries to his lower legs as a child. He has received the Pride of Britain and UK Points of Light awards.

King Charles’ garden party wouldn’t be his first meeting with members of the royal family as he has been seen with Princess Kate Middleton on several occasions.

The Prince and Princess of Wales had previously hailed Tony as a hero for his incredible fundraising walks for disadvantaged young people.

Inspired by Sir Tom Moore, Tony walked 10 miles in 30 days to raise around £2 million for charity. Following this, he met Kate and William, who “spent hours” chatting with him at the Together At Christmas singing event at Westminster Abbey in 2023.

Kate and Williams’ children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – wrote heartwarming letters to Tony during Catherine’s annual Christmas service.