image source, Paula Hudgell
- author, Emily Cody Stemp
- role, BBC News, South East
-
A nine-year-old double amputee boy has received a royal invitation from Buckingham Palace after missing the king's garden party due to traffic jams.
Depressed Kent resident Tony Hudgell was about to go to bed after spending several hours stuck in traffic on the M20 with his family when he was lifted by the royal intervention.
A post on the X (formerly Twitter) royal page read: “So sorry to hear this, Tony! We were looking forward to meeting you too. We'll try again another day. Please leave it as is.''
The boy's adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, said the reaction left a “huge shock” on the boy's face. “He'll go to bed tonight knowing he was lonely,” she said.
He had received a special invitation from the king to a garden party.
Ms Hudgell said her family had originally been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in two weeks' time, but she had to move up the date to undergo surgery for bowel cancer.
She told BBC Radio Kent: “I'm fine. This is just one of the complications of bowel cancer.”
Hajer said the family spent several hours in traffic trying to get to London.
But a truck fire on the M20 on Tuesday caused significant delays and ultimately forced the family to abandon the journey.
She had posted on social media that her family was stuck and unable to attend the party.
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Every summer, we host a garden party inviting people who have made a positive impact on our community.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service said they were called to reports of a lorry on the M20 towards London and first aid was given to one person who suffered from mild smoke inhalation.
Hudgell said as she sat in the driveway, she was worried about the people involved in the incident.
When she returned home, her family was “as flat as a pancake,” she said.
But she said Tony remained in good spirits.
“He was in true Tony style. He sat there for three and a half hours, not moving, and he kept singing and people were talking to him,” she said.
“Silver Lining”
Ms Hudgell believes Tony's visit to the palace will not be until next year, as garden parties are only held twice a year.
But she believes he will enjoy it more because his health should have improved after major surgery in March.
She said: “He has had extensive foot and hip surgery and is mostly confined to a wheelchair.
“I said, ‘I hope next year I can be a little more mobile and walk around the garden.’ That’s a little bit of a silver lining.”
