Kate Middleton to attend Buckingham Palace reception minus Prince William; Sussexes to skip

Kate Middleton will be attending an important royal reception at Buckingham Palace, next week. Odd as it seems, she will be doing so without her husband Prince William.

Queen Elizabeth II is hosting NATO leaders at Buckingham Palace and the rest of the royal British family will be joining them. The reception will host some of the world leaders including the President of the US Donald Trump and other NATO partners.

According to Hello while Prince William will be performing his royal duties in the Middle East, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Earl of Wessex, Princess Anne, the Duke and the Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra will be joining the queen and the Duchess of Cambridge in welcoming the foreign dignitaries for a NATO Summit.

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew, too, will remain absent from the event.

Short for The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or North Atlantic Alliance, NATO is an inter-governmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries that was established on April 4, 1949. It was originally founded by 12 countries and expanded to 29 members subsequently. The UK and the US are the two founding members which is why it is a prestigious event organized at the royal palace. The reception is to celebrate a milestone in the history of the NATO alliance. It marks 70 years of the partnership.

Apart from Prince Andrew and Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be attending the event too. According to Mirror, the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex are on a break of six weeks and will not be a part of any royal engagements during this time.

"Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by other Members of the Royal Family, will host a reception for NATO leaders, spouses or partners, and delegations, at Buckingham Palace to mark 70 years of the NATO alliance. The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will formally receive the NATO leaders and their partners," reads the formal statement released by the palace as quoted by the publication.

The reception at the Buckingham Palace will take place on Tuesday, December 4. This will be President Trump's second visit to the UK in the year 2019. He earlier visited the UK in July for a state visit.