Yesterday CTV published an article on excuses for skipping royal weddings.
"You may have a genuine excuse to miss attending a wedding, but some excuses may be more unusual than others.
Disputes over honeymoon plans, unexploded bombs and elections have all been used to get guests off the hook from attending royal weddings and CTVNews.ca has rounded up some of the more memorable excuses." Most of these relate to the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but some go further back...
King Carl XVI Gustaf declined the 2011 wedding as it was his birthday the day after the nuptials.
Rugby stars Brian O'Driscoll and Richie McCaw both turned down 2011 invitations to prepare for the Rugby World Cup.
The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk said 'no' to attending Prince William's 2011 wedding due to the announcement of their separation nd divorce.
The King and Queen of Jordan declined due to the Arab Spring protests in their country.
The Crown Prince and Princess of Japan had an earthquake and tsunami n Tohoku in 2011.
Stephen Harper refused an invitation as the federal election was held three days after the celebration.
Feuding and snubs
Other times, political disputes can get in the way of enjoying a celebration. Such was the case for the King and Queen of Spain during Prince Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981. Disputes over the royal couple's planned honeymoon – which started with a cruise originating from Gibraltar – led to a snub from Spanish royalty. Spain claims the island of Gibraltar and politicians called the decision to visit the island "inopportune and gratuitous."
It was a similar story for the presidents of Greece, Republic of Ireland and Malta after they received their invites to Prince Charles’ first wedding. The president of Greece spurned an invite after former Greek king Constantine was invited as a friend of the royal couple.
The president of Malta gave a more personal reason when declining the invite, citing "pending issues with Britain related to World War II, unexploded bombs on the island and sunken ships in the water.”
Then-Irish president Patrick Hillery said ‘no’ to attending due to "other commitments," which sources told The Associated Press was related to two hunger-striking Irish Republican Army prisoners near death in Northern Ireland.
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