Palast invites you again

Traffic jam! Legless boy misses King Charles’ party

King Charles and Queen Camilla at the King's garden party.(Bild: AFP/APA/POOL/Jordan Pettitt)

It's not every day that you are invited to a garden party by King Charles. Nine-year-old Tony Hudgell has now been given this honor twice. The boy, who had both legs amputated as a baby due to abuse by his biological parents, was actually expected to attend a party in the garden of Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. But that never happened: he and his adoptive mother got stuck in a traffic jam.

A photo on X showed him sitting in the car wearing sunglasses. His mother wrote: "Stuck on the M20 for two hours and won't make it in time for the King's garden party."

Palace invites Tony once again
A few hours later, the palace replied - also on X: "Sorry to hear that, Tony! We were looking forward to seeing you too. Do you fancy trying again another day? Leave it to us." Tony's mum thanked him for the "wonderful answer". Now everyone was relieved and Tony would go to bed much happier.

Tony Hudgell made headlines in 2020 when he ran a charity run for a clinic with his prostheses. The campaign was inspired by the then almost 100-year-old World War II veteran Captain Tom Moore, who walked through his backyard with his walker to raise money for the NHS during the pandemic. Both of the boy's legs had to be amputated as a baby due to abuse by his biological parents.

Commitment to the community was honored
Due to King Charles' cancer, it was not clear for a long time whether he would be able to attend the garden parties this year. However, at the end of April, the palace announced that the treatment was showing positive results and that the King would be able to attend at least some public events again.

The parties are part of the royal family's traditional summer program. They honor people from the administration, the military and civil society who have rendered outstanding services to the general public.