Tony Hudgell: Royals invite double amputee, 9, to Buckingham Palace after he misses garden party
9 May 2024, 05:52 | Updated: 9 May 2024, 08:30
The Royal Family have invited a nine-year-old double amputee to Buckingham Palace, after he and his family missed a garden party.
Tony Hudgell, a fundraiser and campaigner who lost his legs after he was abused by his birth parents, was set to attend the Royal Garden Party on Wednesday after getting an invitation from the King.
He narrowly missed the occasion after a lorry fire left him and his adoptive family stranded on the M20 for several hours.
But shortly before 8pm, the Royal Family said on social media: "Sorry to hear this, Tony! We were looking forward to seeing you too."
They then offered: "Fancy trying again another day? Leave it with us..."
Paula Hudgell, Tony's adoptive mother, said the family had been "all so disappointed and flat" after missing the party and thanked the royals for their offer.
"This tweet has certainly lifted our spirits and Tony is going to bed now much happier," she added.
Around 8,000 people were in attendance for the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, which marked the first anniversary of the King and Queen's coronation. The next event takes place on 21 May,
Tony was just 41 days old when both of his legs were amputated. An attack by both his birth parents caused multiple fractures, organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis.
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He was then left untreated for 10 days. Tony's biological father Anthony Smith and mother Jody Simpson were both jailed for 10 years in 2018.
Since he turned five, Tony has raised more than £1.8 million for charity and also inspired "Tony's Law", which updated guidelines to allow tougher sentencing for people convicted of child cruelty.
He became the youngest person to ever feature in the New Year Honours in December, when he was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the prevention of child abuse.
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