King Charles and Prince William have canceled the majority of their royal engagements—but before you spiral, there's a pretty simple reason.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for a General Election on July 4, and it's standard for the royals to bow out of events in the lead-up. Why? Royal protocol, of course! Here's what Buckingham Palace said in a statement to Tatler:

“Following the Prime Minister's statement this afternoon calling a General Election, The Royal Family will—in accordance with normal procedure—postpone engagements that may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign. Their Majesties send their sincere apologies to any of those who may be affected as a result.”

Charles reportedly had three (now-canceled) outings planned for the remainder of this week while Prince William had just one. As for any future engagements, Tatler reports that the Palace is reviewing them on a “case-by-case” basis. That! Said!!! It seems as though the King *will* still attend larger events like Trooping the Colour on June 15.

In Case You Were Wondering...

Trooping the Colour is an annual celebration to honor His Majesty's birthday (wow, and I thought my bday party was over the top), and there's been speculation that Kate Middleton could show up on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Btw, Christopher Andersen told the following to Us Weekly back on May 10: “She may appear on the balcony; that’s not too much of a strain on her, I wouldn’t think.” He then noted that should Kate skip the event, it could “send the message” that “things are perhaps a little worse than we thought and so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Meanwhile, Sources Say...

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