Why Kate Middleton and Prince William Opted Out of Easter with the Royals Again: A Look at Their Family Traditions
- Kate Middleton and Prince William have confirmed they will not join the royal family for church on Easter.
- The Prince and Princess of Wales have attended the Easter Matins Service in Windsor together just five times as a couple, most recently skipping it in 2024 shortly after Kate publicly announced her cancer diagnosis.
- Prince William and Princess Kate will instead celebrate Easter this year in Norfolk with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
While Kate Middleton and Prince William are prominent figures within the royal family, they do not always spend the holiday with William’s relatives.
On April 17, the Prince and Princess of Wales announced they would not be joining the royal family for Easter this year. Instead, William, 42, and Kate, 43, will enjoy the holiday weekend in Norfolk at their country home with their three children: Prince George, 11; Princess Charlotte, 9; and Prince Louis, 6.
Buckingham Palace previously stated that King Charles, Queen Camilla, and other members of the royal family will attend the Easter Matins Service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday, April 20.
The tradition of celebrating Easter with mass at St. George’s Chapel dates back generations and is an event that Prince William has participated in since childhood. His first royal Easter was at age 4 in 1987, where he wore a robin’s egg blue coat that matched his mother, Princess Diana, as they walked to church hand-in-hand alongside his cousin, Peter Phillips.
Prince William married Kate in 2011; however, royal enthusiasts may be surprised to learn that the couple did not join the royal family for Easter until six years later.
In 2014, William and Kate notably took almost 2-year-old Prince George with them on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand that coincided with Easter. While the royal couple, known then as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended an Easter Sunday Service at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, they did not bring along young George.
William and Kate again missed Easter in Windsor the following year, during which Queen Elizabeth led the church service. Their choice to skip the event in April 2015 may have been influenced by Kate’s struggle with hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness) during her pregnancies; she was only a few weeks away from giving birth to Princess Charlotte.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the Easter Matins Service with the royal family for the first time in 2017, where Kate performed a perfect curtsy as a gesture of respect for Queen Elizabeth as she passed by.
They attended Easter services again in April 2018, marking Kate’s last public appearance before the birth of Prince Louis later that month.
William and Kate continued the tradition by joining the royal family on Easter in 2019. However, this gathering was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the global COVID pandemic. The couple returned to the service in 2022, bringing Prince George and Princess Charlotte for their first joint appearance.
In 2023, Prince Louis attended the Easter Matins Service for the first time, with the family coordinating their outfits in complementary blue hues.
In 2024, Prince William, Princess Kate, and their children did not attend Easter services, as the holiday occurred just a week after Kate announced her cancer treatment. The Princess of Wales largely stepped back from the public eye to focus on her health, later sharing in September that she had completed chemotherapy and expressing relief on January 14 that she was in remission.
While King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, will lead the royal family’s Easter celebrations, it’s worth noting that they did not always attend the church service. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign and prior to Charles’ ascension, the couple often opted to spend Easter in Scotland instead.
