One week ago exactly, Kensington Palace staffers were briefing the Mirror, the Times and the Mail about their big plans for the Princess of Wales to make her first public appearance at church on Easter Sunday. At the time, the conversations around the “missing” princess were growing dire, to the point where KP was under significant pressure to provide proof of life. Now we know that one week ago, Kate filmed her cancer-announcement video, which effectively ended all speculation about when and where we would see her next. KP then announced that of course Kate would not show up on Easter Sunday, and it will probably be a while before she has any kind of public schedule.
So in Kate’s absence, King Charles and Buckingham Palace are now doing the most to turn this high holy day into a story about a king’s resurrection. In recent days, there’s has been a wealth of briefings from BP about Charles’s plans to be seen out and about more often in the late spring and early summer. Starting with an Easter Sunday appearance:
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the King will attend the traditional Easter Matins church service on Sunday. Charles, 75, accompanied by the Queen, will lead members of the Royal family at the traditional service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The King has stepped back from public duties on medical advice as he undergoes cancer treatment, in order to avoid the risks associated with large crowds. The royal turnout on Easter Sunday will therefore be considerably smaller than usual, in order to minimise his contact with others, an outing dubbed “Easter Lite”.
The palace said: “Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by other members of the Royal family, will attend the Easter Matins Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on Easter Sunday.”
The outing will be the King’s most significant appearance since he was diagnosed with cancer early last month. Since then, he has been determined to maintain a public profile, reassuring the nation that his hand remains on the tiller and that he continues with his state duties. As such, he has also recorded an audio message that will be played at the Royal Maundy Thursday service at Worcester Cathedral this week, when he will be represented by the Queen. Camilla, 76, will distribute Maundy money on behalf of her husband, taking on the ancient custom for the first time. The King is unable to attend due to the large numbers that will be at the service.
On Easter Sunday, by comparison, there will be a vastly reduced congregation with only a handful of royals in attendance. Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children will not be there.
Yeah, this is fine and uncontroversial? The Windsors do Easter in Windsor, so it’s very easy for them to control the guest-list, the optics and the photographers’ set-up. Charles will be able to either walk to church or be chauffeured, and he’ll wave to photographers some distance away, and that’s it. There will probably only be about a dozen royals in attendance. I wonder if all the “royal cousins” are being told not to bother. Last year’s royal-Easter featured a lot of royal cousins and their kids. I bet that won’t be the case this year.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- King Charles departs St George’s Chapel, Windsor after attending the Easter Sunday Service.,Image: 768360916, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: David Dyson / Avalon
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- King Charles , The Queen Consort, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew attend the Easter Sunday Service in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.,Image: 768362206, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: David Dyson / Avalon
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- King Charles , The Queen Consort attend the Easter Sunday Service in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.,Image: 768362379, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: David Dyson / Avalon
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- Members of the British Royal family attend the Easter Mattins Service at Windsor Castlle Featuring: Camilla, Queen Consort Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 09 Apr 2023 Credit: Cover Images
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- Members of the British Royal family attend the Easter Mattins Service at Windsor Castlle Featuring: Camilla, Queen Consort, King Charles III and Prince Andrew, Duke of York Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 09 Apr 2023 Credit: Cover Images
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- King Charles and Queen Camilla attending St Mary Magdalene Church Featuring: King Charles and Queen Camilla Where: Sandringham, Norfolk, United Kingdom When: 11 Feb 2024 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend Sandrinham church the Sunday after he was diagnosed with cancer. Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Sandringham, United Kingdom When: 11 Feb 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend Sandrinham church the Sunday after he was diagnosed with cancer. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Sandringham, United Kingdom When: 11 Feb 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- King Charles and Queen Camilla attending St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate. Featuring: King Charles and Queen Camilla Where: Sandringham, United Kingdom When: 18 Feb 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Maybe Andrew will be front and center
😀
Maybe this is why KC had lunch with Kate; to make it clear that Easter is HIS. She needs to plan her comeback at a different time. I wonder if he would let her big comeback be at Trooping either, since that is supposed to be about him also.
Off-topic, but isn’t it true that Charles doesn’t have lunch, ever? Only if he is forced to because of an engagement.
Small sounds good. The King shall appear on Easter. So holy indeed. How is the weather looking for that day in Windsor? Any thunderstorms predicted? Would not be good should the heavens open up and unleash some thunder and lightning.
Will the “Down with the Crown” protesters be on-site?
KFC has cancer, is receiving treatment but has been doing at least one engagement each week. K on the other hand, had cancerous tissue removed, is receiving chemo to prevent the cancer recurring but hasn’t and cannot do any engagements UFN. Why do I feel like the palaces have flipped KFC and K’s prognoses.
I made a (less succinct) comment to this effect on another story.
You can take the clowns out of KP but the clownshow continues. As does the deeply engrained laziness.
Honestly, why can’t Wm and the kids go to the Easter service? Or even have Cam or somebody else take the kids if Wm cannot tear himself away from watching Kate? They act like they are invisibly tethered to one another. Any normal family would hand off the kids (maybe sans Louis) for Easter church service if religion is so important to their upbringing.
I think KP was told that Easter is for Charles and for Kate to sit this one out. I think we’re going to see some back and forth between the two palaces over the next few months, because BP knows that Kate’s first appearance will get a ton of attention and they’re going to want to stage manage that to not distract from Charles.
Why can’t William attend the Easter service? If Kate’s not able to go, that makes sense – but why can’t William? We know he’s not sitting around 24/7 mopping her brow and holding her hand.
William & the kids. Maintain some sort of sense of normality for them.
If Charles can’t be exposed to large crowds (he is presumably immunocompromised with chemo), surely it doesn’t make sense for Camilla to do large crowd events, and then return home to Charles with all the germs she’s picked up?
Particularly given that she is apparently refusing to mask, in public, during an ongoing Covid/measles/RSV/H5N1 pandemic?
It’s almost like she got what she wanted off of him, and now wants him gone.
Remember though, they apparently don’t live together all that much.
Great point, same applies with Kate/Will/the children too honestly.
I’m sure the royals have the same “protection for me but not for thee” air purifying protocols like Davos rolls out every year (HEPA filters, extreme ventilation, UV lights, testing, etc), they just aren’t talking about it because they want us to think they’re jUsT LiKe Us.
Shout out to those who commented my post that Kate should/could be working was ridiculous.
It wasn’t ridiculous then & doubly so now.
If 76yr old Chuck can walk a few metres to church, so can Kate. After all, KP said it was she at the market, grinning & waking around just fine.
That was what was so strange to me about the market video. Whether it was Kate or not, the message is the same since KP didn’t disavow the video – she’s healthy enough to walk through what looks to be a crowded market, she looked happy, she had a bounce in her step, etc. But she can’t attend a small church service on Easter?
the video was just a strange PR move because it portrayed what KP had been telling us – that Kate was recovering nicely, that she was feeling better, that she was getting ready for her big return to public life at Easter. And then we had the cancer video which blew that narrative out of the water.
Maybe she and William really are battling behind the scenes.
While I think they’re operating with minimal strategy at KP – I suspect they’ve decided not to confirm or deny the use of any body doubles. That way they can hire/use them for cover and never take the blame for the set up, which is especially important in the era of nothing from the palace bring trusted or going unscrutinized.
And carrying large bags. While practically skipping.
yup.
She’s saving all of her energy to parent those three very small children doncha know 😹 Those school runs are strenuous.
Oh dear, yes WHY can’t William attend with the children??
Well surely Billy will be busy with the Easter egg hunt?? I wonder if he will be Lucy, oops lucky, and find the most eggs? I think this is camzilla saying “, back of Kate, it’s Charlie’s turn, stay home, pick up a few more wiglets and don’t even think of trying to upstage the king and I!!!
Mary Pester, you got me wondering who this Lucy is. You told us to keep an eye on the Easter seatings, but now Billy Idle won’t be attending. Can’t wait to hear more of your tea!
I hope you’re feeling better. 💐
Based on MP’s clues, I have an earworm from You’re So Vain:
Well you’re where you should be all the time, and when you’re not, you’re with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend, wife of a close friend…
Mary Pester, I think you’re right–it was either KFC or the Escort who made sure she wasn’t shown at Easter. I suspect the same may happen at Trooping. She’s not the one who is going through chemo like KFC–yes, she’s having chemo to make sure it’s all gone, but there are different kinds of chemo.
I haven’t decided whether this is a way to keep her out of the public eye and help roll out a separation or divorce later or what.
No Eggs can be in the chapel for Easter. They must be hidden outside in the grass.