Royal family gather at Windsor Castle for first Easter Sunday service without the Queen
King Charles and the Queen Consort wished people ‘Happy Easter’ as they attended the first Easter Sunday service of his reign.
The Royal Family was out in force in the grounds of Windsor Castle, enjoying the bright spring sunshine ahead of the morning service.
Charles and Camilla wore matching royal blue outfits on what was their 18th anniversary, with the King in a suit and the Queen Consort wearing a coat dress by Anna Valentine with a Philip Treacy hat.
They left the service separately, with Camilla stopping to receive a bouquet from a young girl.
She waved to members of the public and wished them a ‘Happy Easter’, before getting into a waiting car.
Charles also greeted the crowd, receiving a round of applause as he left a few minutes later.
They were joined at the service by the Princess Royal and the Duke of York.
Andrew also wished the public a ‘Happy Easter’ as he left.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended with their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
Kate wore a marine blue Catherine Walker coat and matching pill-box hat by Lock & Co.
William and Prince George wore matching navy suits, while Princess Charlotte wore a blue polka-dot dress.
Prince Louis, attending the service for the first time, wore a suit jacket and light blue shorts.
Kate stopped after the service to receive a posy from eight-year-old Samuel. She smiled at him and shook his hand before before waving to the public as she left.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh attended with their son James, the Earl of Wessex.
Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, also attended the service, as did her sister Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, and Zara and Mike Tindall and their two daughters, Mia and Lena.
Following the service, the family will sit down for a roast dinner together, tucking into items sourced from royal estates, such as venison, spring vegetables, new potatoes, carrots, salmon and roast ham.
It is thought Charles may relax one of the late Queen’s dinner rules for the occasion.
Royal expert Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said: ‘They will all have dinner together but not the young children they will eat in the nursery dining room.
‘The Queen always said until they could hold a knife and fork properly they could not eat at the table, but Charles might have relaxed that rule a bit. But dinner is only for grown-ups.’
There is also said to be a new role for the Princess of Wales – organising the Easter egg hunt for the royal children.
Ms Seaward told The Sun: ‘Kate is a great organiser and will almost certainly organise an Easter egg hunt – the children can also go to the royal mews and see the horses there and there is an indoor pool for swimming and ponies for them to ride.’
Charles, as monarch, has succeeded his mother to become the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
In less than a month’s time, he will be crowned alongside Camilla in a religious service in Westminster Abbey.
As the Prince of Wales, Charles often released an Easter message and last year highlighted the millions of displaced people ‘wounded by the past, fearful of the future’, but this year has not, likely to be a reflection of his new role as head of state.
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