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.
