Double-amputee, 9, gets Buckingham Palace invite after missing royal garden party
Not every nine-year-old can casually say they’ve been invited to come hang out with the royal family.
Tony Hudgell, a nine-year-old who had both legs amputated once hailed a hero by William and Kate, was ‘hugely excited’ to go to the King’s Garden Party yesterday.
The party is, for some, a chance to casually hobnob with the monarch and other royal relatives in Charles’ back garden – Buckingham Palace.
Tony was invited to the party after becoming the youngest person to ever feature in the New Year Honours in December
X account jointly run by Tony and his adoptive mother Paula, they wrote: ‘Stuck on M20 for last two hours. Won’t be making the King’s Garden Party.’
A lorry fire along the road thwarted their attempt to drive from their home in West Malling, Kent, to London.
The experience left the family ‘disappointed’, Paula said.
The official Royal Family account on X replied just after 7.45pm (or just before Tony’s bedtime) with some rather good news.
‘Sorry to hear this, Tony! We were looking forward to seeing you too,’ the post said.
‘Fancy trying again another day? Leave it with us…’
In a follow-up post, the Pride of Britain winner’s mum replied: ‘Thank you so much for this wonderful reply, @RoyalFamily.
‘We were all so disappointed and flat tonight. This tweet has certainly lifted our spirits and Tony is going to bed now much happier.’
Paula added: ‘It’s left with the palace now and I am sure we will hear back at some point.
‘We can’t do this year but hopefully, we will in the next one.’
This year’s garden party was the first held during Charles’ reign and saw around 8,000 people attend.
The guest list ranged from the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to Lionel Richie.
Paula said she and her son left their house some four hours before they needed to be at the palace – the journey should have only taken 90 minutes at a push’
‘There was a lorry fire on the M20. We got caught up [with the incident] where the motorway had been shut. We were stranded there for three-and-a-half hours.
‘Initially, we were still hopeful the road might still open but knew it probably wouldn’t as it was such a huge fire. Our thoughts were with the lorry driver and thankfully he was ok.’
One person received first aid for minor smoke inhalation, fire officials said.
Paula added: ‘You just have to get on with it. It was a nice day. We were standing on the motorway chatting to other people.
‘Tony was singing and chatting to people.’
Tony was only 41 days old when both of his legs were amputated.
After being attacked by his birth parents, Tony was left in agony for 10 days before doctors saved his life in 2018. Both dad Anthony Smith and mum Jody Simpson were jailed for 10 years over the torture.
Tony has since helped raise millions for charity and inspired ‘Tony’s Law’, which increased prison sentences for those convicted of child cruelty and neglect.
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