The Prince and Princess of Wales will not join the King and Queen for the royals traditional Easter gathering at Windsor Castle. William and Kate will instead spend the Easter weekend with their children at their country home in Norfolk.
The prince told the King of his intention to miss the annual gathering, where the King and Queen are expected to be joined by several senior royals, to “enjoy some extended time as a family over Easter”, a source said. “They are choosing to spend time together as a family before the children go back to school”, the source added. The Waleses did not attend the service last year as it was only weeks after the princess was diagnosed with cancer.
A royal source said the Prince of Wales had notified the King of his intention to miss the service, with the King agreeing to the couple spending the Easter holidays with their family. The King, as head of the Church of England which William will one day lead when he becomes sovereign, will lead the royal family to church at Windsor Castle on Sunday.
The Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are likely to attend. Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were surprise inclusions last year at the Easter Matins service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
It marked the first time the Duchess of York had attended the service since she divorced Andrew back in 1996. The Princess of Wales is continuing her staggered return to duties after being diagnosed with cancer last February.
This week, the princess described how she experiences a “very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection” when spending time in nature, giving her a “sense of peace” in a “very busy world “.
Kensington Palace posted a new video of Kate on Monday, showing the princess in a bakerboy cap, walking near the shores of Lake Windermere in the Lake District last month with a group of Scouts from Cumbria and Stretford, Greater Manchester. She was filmed in conversation with chief scout Dwayne Fields as she told him how being outdoors was “so… meaningful for me as a place of balance”.
The princess has long advocated the benefits of spending time in the natural world, previously revealing how nature became her family’s “sanctuary” and how she has craved being in the sunlight, in the wake of her diagnosis and during her chemotherapy treatment.
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”.
In a welcome and positive update in January, the princess announced that she was in remission from cancer and was doing all she could to stay “focused on recovery”. In a message posted on social media, she said: “As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal. I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead,” signing off with “C” for Catherine.
Meanwhile, the King and Queen have been spending time at their Birkhall home on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, after a busy four day state visit to Italy. The King has maintained an extraordinary busy schedule this year despite continuing his cancer treatment weekly. He was also recently hospitalised suffering temporary side effects from the treatment. Kensington Palace did not comment.
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