The Prince and Princess of Wales skipped the Royal Family’s traditional Easter Sunday church service today – and they weren’t the only royals missing. King Charles and Queen Camilla led the family for the annual service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The Mirror revealed last week that the Prince of Wales told the King of his intention to miss the annual gathering to “enjoy some extended time as a family over Easter”, a source said. Therefore attending the service today were Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and Sophie.
Making a surprise appearance was Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Also attending the service was the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s son James – the Earl of Wessex, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
However, several other key members of the family were missing. One royal absent today was Lady Louise Windsor, the eldest daughter of Sophie and Edward, who is currently in her third year at St Andrews University. Also missing was the King’s other niece Zara Tindall, her husband Mike and their three children Mia, Lena and Lucas. Her older brother Peter Phillips also did not attend with his two daughters Savannah and Isla.
The Waleses did not attend the service last year as it was only weeks after Kate was diagnosed with cancer. William and Kate recently returned from a skiing holiday with their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine and Prince Louis, six. The family enjoyed a week in the French Alps with pictures of their family break appearing in a French magazine, prompting the wrath of Kensington Palace.
The family in February enjoyed a half term break on the exclusive island of Mustique in the Caribbean, while William and Kate also separately jetted off on a skiing holiday at the end of December, again in France, with Kate’s brother James and his wife, Alizée. It has been an extraordinary year for the monarchy after both the King and his daughter-in-law Kate were diagnosed with cancer within days of each other.
The future queen underwent six months of preventative chemotherapy, later speaking in September of her relief on finishing her course of treatment. In an emotional video, featuring husband William, their three children and her parents, Kate, 43, said the year had been “incredibly tough” and “that life as you know it can change in an instant”.
Meanwhile, last week, the Queen paid tribute to the King’s sense of duty saying he “loves his work” and wants to do “more and more and more” as he gets better. Camilla said Charles, 76, who is receiving ongoing treatment for cancer, was ‘driven’ by helping others and indicated his cancer journey was one of ‘recovery’.
Last month, the King experienced temporary side effects following treatment at the London Clinic, which required a short period of hospital observation that day. Charles’s Easter Sunday appearance last year was his first major public one following his cancer diagnosis. He was applauded by the crowds as he greeted well-wishers who urged him to ‘keep going strong’.
At the start of the Easter weekend, the King thanked a wellwisher who told him he looked in good health, joking: “You are very kind, it’s all mirrors.” It came as Charles was joined by the Queen for the traditional Maundy Thursday service at Durham Cathedral, a key date in the royal calendar. He gave Maundy money to 76 men and 76 women – one for every year of his age – in thanks for their Christian service to their communities.
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