Easter with the Middletons at Anmer Hall
Sometime last week—I think it was Holy Thursday—the Palace announced the Wales family would not attend the Easter service at Windsor with King Charles and Queen Camilla. Instead, the family would spend the feast in Norfolk at their country estate.
I was, of course, disappointed we wouldn’t see them at Windsor, but I was not shocked to hear they would be at Anmer Hall. I was surprised by the immediate public uproar that followed and the conspiracies about William’s relationship with Charles that followed.
The Middleton family has been very much out of the limelight of late, but it would make sense that every now and again the Waleses want to spend a holiday with them. Pippa in particular has really disappeared into her own private world since becoming a mother. With her husband Matthew, she has three children ages 5, 4, and 1. James and Alizée have a 18-month old. What a fun group of little ones to get together for an egg hunt!
Even if Pippa and James were off doing their own Easter activities, William and Kate can be excused for wanting a country Easter on occasion. There is nothing in their choice that would suggest a rift with King Charles, and it is unreasonable to say that William and Kate can never have a major holiday with her side of the family.
Hello! magazine reported that William, Kate, and their three children—accompanied by Carole and Mike Middleton—attended the 11am Easter Sunday service at St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham. According to Hello!:
An eyewitness revealed that Kate was dressed in a long camel coat and a trilby brown hat, while William sported a dark suit.
The vicar, Canon Paul Williams, was spotted handing the royal family wrapped hot cross buns on their way out.
Apparently, the group left by a back door.
Kate could have been wearing the Massimo Dutti she has worn a number of times:
She has other camel and brown-colored coats, of course, but that’s a big one in her wardrobe and seems likely in terms of style. Otherwise, I would bet it was a Holland Cooper in a brown color way. Kate debuted a new brown trilby/fedora from Hicks & Brown in 2023 at Crathie Kirk, which would fit the minimal description we have.
As I say, I am disappointed that we didn’t get to see the Waleses at Windsor, but Christmas is the bigger royal family holiday (with the walk to church, etc), and if they are going to skip a BRF family holiday on occasion, Easter seems like the obvious choice. I do wonder if it was a larger Middleton family gathering at Anmer, though. As I say, we know Kate is very close to her family, and they must be getting together relatively regularly, they just do it under the radar. More proof the royals have a lot more privacy than many people realize.
I am not surprised they spent Easter with the Middletons. Once William is King, they will be duty bound to publicly mark the holiday. I would bet they are taking the time (with the King's support) to have as many "normal", private holidays as they can while the children are young, especially after the last year. I am sure they forsee a time when they will not be able to put private family time before duty. Last year at Easter, they were reeling from Kate's cancer diagnosis and the fallout from the Mother's Day photo. God willing, there will be plenty of Easters at Windsor where we can see them. In the meantime, l don't begrudge them private time with their children and the Middletons.
“More proof the royals have a lot more privacy than many people realize.” Quite.