Princess Catherine, Prince William stay away, Prince Andrew joins royals at Easter service
Prince William and Princess Catherine stayed home as the disgraced Prince Andrew joined ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and the Royal Family for Easter services at Windsor Castle. See photos.
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King Charles and Queen Camilla and members of the royal family joined together to attend the Easter Sunday Matins service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
A surprise attendee was Prince Andrew who, despite stepping back from royal duties, has tried to remain out of the limelight but quickly drew headlines across the UK when he turned up at the church service.
He has continued to cause controversy for the royal family and his appearance on Sunday comes after his accuser, Virginia Giuffre who lives in WA, recently claimed she had just days to live after being involved in a bus crash which turned out to be incorrect.
The trouble-plagued 65-year-old royal’s decision to join his relatives at Easter is of significance because last year he failed to attend the royal’s Christmas celebrations after a furore erupted over his alleged links with Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
Prince Andrew arrived at the Easter service in a car with his former wife Sarah Ferguson and their two daughters were also present – Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie alongside her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh also attended the Sunday morning service.
King Charles and Queen Camilla waved to crowds as they arrived at the service on a sunny British morning. They wore matching blue attire – the King wearing a navy blue suit and light blue tie and the Queen wearing a light-blue dress and matching hat.
The most notable absentees from the Easter Sunday service were the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The pair made the decision to bypass the service and instead spend Easter at their Anmer Hall home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk with their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 7, before they return to school after the holiday break.
The King and Queen recently returned from a four-day state visit to Italy where they had a private meeting with Pope Francis.
During their tour, on April 9 they also celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
Reports also emerged last week that the King sent an invitation to French president Emmanuel Macron to visit the UK for a state visit before the end of May. US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Britain in September.
King Charles’ appearance at the service also comes after the 76-year-old was taken to hospital last month after suffering side effects from his ongoing cancer treatment.
He was taken to the London Clinic in Marylebone in central London and he required a short period of observation in hospital before he was released.
KATE AND WILLIAM’S EASTER PLANS REVEALED
Easter is popular with kids because of its combination of fun traditions and activities that appeal to children, such as decorating eggs, egg hunts, and the Easter bunny.
The Prince and Princess of Wales once shared that their kids did celebrate Easter with an egg hunt and revealed that they eat a lot of chocolate during the holiday.
But if you’re one of the younger Waleses, it also might mean attending a special church service.
The Royal Family’s Easter Matins service is a traditional Easter Sunday church service held at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where many members of the Royal Family attend.
It’s a family gathering with the King and Queen often joined by several senior royals, and wellwishers gather in the castle grounds.
But this year, Princess Catherine, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis won’t be attending.
People magazine reports that while King Charles, Queen Camilla and other senior members of the royal family are set to attend the traditional service at Windsor Castle on Sunday, April 20, the Prince and Princess of Wales won’t attend.
Instead, Prince William and Princess Catherine will spend the weekend with their children at their country home in Norfolk.
This will be the second year the Waleses have skipped the more formal part of the Easter observances, the first being opting out of last year’s service amid Princess Catherine’s cancer news, which had been made public just weeks before.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and children have kept out of the public eye in recent weeks, preferring to spend time together as a family while the kids are on school break.
William and Prince George did travel to Paris together to support their favourite soccer team, Aston Villa, in their April 9 match against Paris Saint-Germain where the father and son bonded over the team’s first European quarterfinal.
The future king told TNT Sports, “I think those memories are really important to create and to bring him along tonight is a big deal for me.”
They also attended the rematch in Birmingham on April 15.
Prince William, 42, and Princess Catherine, 43, last attended Easter with the Royal Family in 2023, with Prince Louis, 6, joining them for the first time a year after the Easter debut of his siblings Prince George, 11, and Princess Charlotte, 9.
As they grow older the children are joining their parents at more royal public events, such as
church on Christmas Day, and Trooping the Colour.
But Catherine cancer treatment and recovery put a pause on things and she has increasingly advocated for her causes connected to child welfare and nature.
Most recently, Kate met Chief Scout Dwayne Fields for the first time, and celebrated the power of the great outdoors.
The Princess of Wales is Joint President of the The Scouts Association with the Duke of Kent and was filmed in the Lake District last month.
Chief Scout Dwayne asked the princess what she thinks about when she visits the countryside after “all the stresses and strains of regular life”?
She said, “I find it a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection I suppose, these environments.
“Not everyone has that same relationship perhaps with nature.
“But it is so therefore meaningful for me as a place to balance and find a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world.”
Speaking afterwards, Dwayne described the “few hours we spent in the hills” as “magical”.
He added: “I want more young people to experience outdoor adventures like this for themselves.”
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