King Charles and Queen Camilla tell double-amputee Tony Hudgell they will make sure he can see them after he missed Buckingham Palace garden party because of traffic

King Charles and Queen Camilla have told double amputee Tony Hudgell they will make sure he can see them after he missed the Buckingham Palace garden party due to traffic.

The nine-year-old boy, who lost both legs due to horrific abuse by his biological parents, had to miss the party because he was stuck in traffic on the way to London.

Paula Hudgell, Tony’s adoptive mother, said on ‘pasted on [the] M20 for the last 2 hours’ and therefore ‘will not be attending the King’s Garden Party’.

Fortunately, the King and Queen were aware that Tony would have to miss the party when they replied to X: ‘Sorry to hear that, Tony! We were looking forward to seeing you too. Would you like to try it again another day? Leave it with us…’

The boy from Maidstone, Kent, has had it prosthetics on his lower legs since he was a toddler, after being abused as a baby.

Despite the horrific abuse he suffered, Tony has become a fundraiser and has received the Pride of Britain Award and the UK Points of Light Award.

Tony’s adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, did that before X to reveal that her son had received the exciting invitation.

She wrote: ‘Tony is over the moon and excited to have been invited by The King to the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace next Wednesday – let’s hope the sun shines.’

Her words were accompanied by a photo of Tony holding the invitation and smiling as he showed it to the camera.

The garden party would not have been his first meeting with the royal family: the nine-year-old has met the Princess of Wales on a number of occasions, as well as the Prince of Wales.

The royal invite follows Tony raising £1.8million for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital (where he was treated following the life-changing injuries suffered by his biological parents).

Inspired by Captain Tom Moore’s 2020 fundraising walk, Tony, aged just five, ran 10km on his prosthetic legs in June 2020 to raise the money.

As well as raising the impressive sum, the youngster also inspired an English law change known as ‘Tony’s Law’, which was introduced into the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

Tony’s Law calls for longer prison sentences for those convicted of child abuse and neglect.

Tony’s biological parents, Anthony Smith, 47, and Jody Simpson, 24, were jailed for 10 years each in 2018 over the torture they inflicted on their 41-day-old son in 2014, which left him with injuries including broken fingers and toes and torn fingers. ligaments.

Despite suffering unspeakable abuse in the early days of his life, little Tony has grown into a kind and determined boy who has raised around £2 million for charity by walking great distances on his crutches.

Tony has previously been hailed as a hero by Prince William and his wife Kate during his extraordinary fundraising walks to help vulnerable children.

He wanted to raise £500 for the hospital that saved his life in 2020 by walking 10km in 30 days, after taking inspiration from Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised more than £33 million while walking in his back garden.

In 2021, a foundation established in his name to improve the lives of children affected by physical, emotional or psychological abuse provided more than 700 Christmas presents to young people in need, and the tradition continued last Christmas.

The nine-year-old’s phenomenal fundraising achievements come despite an incredibly difficult start to his life, which led to him undergoing 23 operations and eight blood transfusions.

The horrific abuse he was subjected to by his biological parents caused serious injuries – and the child also developed blood poisoning because Smith and Simpson waited ten days before taking him to hospital.

His fortunes turned around after his life was saved by specialists at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, of which the Princess of Wales is an official patron.

Then, in 2016, he finally found a loving home with Paula and Mark, who have campaigned tirelessly for Tony’s interests since welcoming him to the family – including a bid for Tony’s Law, which introduced tougher penalties for child abuse.

They also encouraged his fundraising efforts to help other children – putting him in touch with some very famous figures.

After completing his big walk, Tony met the Prince and Princess of Wales who were chatting to the youngster for ‘ages’ as the couple attended the Together At Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey last year.

He has also met Prince Harry, along with a string of celebrities, and earlier this year he was singled out by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his inspiration.

Despite the attention Paula said of Tony: ‘He takes it all in stride, so to speak. He’s just great.

‘He’s a real people person. He can take up a room of people and talk to them all.”

In December, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis posted letters to Tony during their mother’s annual Christmas service.

Click to donate to the family’s fundraiser here.