Princess Mary has been sent “profound apologies” after her invitation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s funeral was revoked at the last minute.
Denmark’s royal family had confirmed Princess Mary's attendance on September 13, saying: “HM The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple [will be] present at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.”
But as Mary’s husband Prince Frederik and mother-in-law Queen Margrethe were seated inside Westminster Abbey on Monday, she was nowhere to be seen.
Speaking to the Danish news outlet BT, the family claimed that the UK foreign office had issued Mary’s initial invitation by some “regrettable error”
A statement from the Royal House read: “There has been a regrettable error in the invitation from the British Foreign Office's protocol. It is thus only the Queen and the Crown Prince who, from the Danish side, will participate in Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral on Monday.”
A spokesperson from The British Foreign Office told MailOnline it sent an apology to the Danish Royal Household via the Danish Embassy.
It has been claimed the “regrettable error” was made due to the Foreign Office having to “send out many invitations within a short space of time.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “The FCDO has passed on their profound apologies to the Danish Royal Household through the Danish Embassy.”
It’s said that Mary, 50, could have been excluded from the service because only one extra guess was permitted.
BT's royal correspondent Jacob Heinel Jensen said the Danish royal house would have been “upset” by last-minute changes and called the retraction “really clumsy and unfortunate”
He continued: “It has meant that the Royal House must now say that a mistake had been made, and that is embarrassing.
“I think the Royal House easily understands that a mistake has been made. I wondered myself when I was in London and the British media wrote that there were only two invitees per country.
“After all, you got the feeling that there really must be extra close ties between Denmark and Britain's royal house if we got three invitations.”
Representatives of more than 20 Royal Families were present at yesterday's service, including the reigning monarchs of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway.
Overseas governments and heads of state and representatives, including representatives for some 20 foreign royal families, attend the gothic-inspired church on Monday to mourn the late sovereign.
Westminster Abbey was filled with 2,000 people including overseas government and heads of state and representatives, as well as representatives for some 20 foreign royal families, who attend the gothic-inspired church on Monday to mourn the late sovereign.
There were also several hundred 'ordinary' Brits chosen by the Queen for her funeral.
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