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.
I have to admit that I was disappointed they didn’t come back to Windsor for the service. However, I never would think it has to do with a rift with the king !
It’s just too bad we didn’t get shots of them at church in Norfolk but I know they’d never let that happen as it would look like it was competing with the king and queen at Windsor.
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.
I think the now King often spent Easter away from Windsor. I agree that they are free to celebrate away from the Royals but note they did go to Church and it was observed that they did and reported.
Maybe an unknown win was not being photographed with Prince Andrew. I think that bringing him back to church walks is in poor taste. It benefits William and Catherine to avoid being in the frame with him.
I am convinced you are right about William not wanting any picture of his family around prince Andrew! I have just read that, contrary to what I believed, the royal Easter celebration is a family tradition and NOT a public one, so in a way, yes, William was free not to attend it. Nevertheless, as the Wales children are going back to school right after the Easter week end and as the Middletons and the Waleses live closer to Windsor than to Norfolk, it would have made sense to finish the school holiday in Berkshire not far from Windsor rather than at Anmer Hall thus allowing them to be seen with King Charles. But if William did not choose this simpler solution, he must have his own motive!
Children grow up so quickly, so spending a family holiday in the country with Easter crafts and egg hunts sounds much more fun than a more formal visit with the adults at Windsor.
I agree with you as to no rift with William and Charles. I think the Late Queen was more rigid (old school) and Charles is a lot more easy going (modern) as to family doing their own thing. Charles now, especially after Harry left and THAT rift, knows William’s proven devotion and loyalty, because if anyone understands the pressures he’s under it’s Charles. Also I think their shared health struggles have softened Charles even more. Maybe the old school courtiers still running around aren’t thrilled, but if they're both doing it their own way and have dealt with and are dealing with tough sickness, they can do what they please. Honestly compared to the Harry debacle and possible political crisis that causes, things like this are small potatoes!
I view this differently; I actually think this was the media's and the public's "consequence" for taking, viewing, and disseminating the paparazzi photos from what was supposed to be a private skiing holiday. Similarly, last year, there was the huge public uproar about the "photoshopped" Mother's Day photo (even though it was quite lovely). So, this year, the PPoW released a video about Mother Nature. I expect that since many people did welcome that reel, and view it in a positive light, W&C will release a photo of C and her children again next Mother's Day.
C&W are fiercly protective of their family, especially of the way the world gets to see their children. They control this by dressing the children in a "royal uniform" and releasing pictures of them on set occassions: Christmas, (typically) Mother's Day, Father's Day, and individual birthdays. Photos are also expected at certain events like the walks on Christmas, Easter, Trooping the Color, and as the children grow older, other big ticket events. This allows C&W to be firmly in control of each child's, and their family's, public image. This is particularly true because Catherine takes the majority of her children's portraits. One major benefit of that along with the children's "uniform" is that they are growing up with a shield around their private life that is closer to what Catherine had than William. Aside from a sentence here and there about George being a loud baby, Charlotte enjoying dance, and the children's pets: we, the public, really don't know anything about the individual children. Their personalities, hobbies, strengths, and weaknesses are developing behind closed doors. This gives the Wales children not only a chance to mature away from private eyes, but also the ability to be a "blank slate" until they are ready for full time public duties. Then, they will have the choice and chance to happily surprise the public with talents (like Catherine playing the piano and releasing a sketch) if and when they decide.
While there are a lot more privacy laws in the UK than the US, I do think that W&C still have a "gentleman's agreement" with many press outlets. This was broken when pictures of the children skiing were published. I think C&W are furious over that intrusion, but don't necessarily want to go to court so quickly after Harry's case. This leaves them with very few options since they have adopted the "never complain, never explain" motto of the late Queen. Thus, they took a route similar to how they dealt with the Mother's Day situation. They took control of what they could, which was taking away the family Easter walk in 2025 that would have provided the media with a lot of money, and the public with updated photos. It's a silent, "you grossly invaded our privacy by stealing pictures of our children when they were not expected to fulfill public duties". The media already received money because of the children and the public cannot complain about not seeing them grow because we did all just see updated photos. Honestly, I think this is a brilliant media strategy for W&C to adopt. And, if it allows the seven cousins to have a massive Easter egg hunt: fantastic! Nothing is more important than security and love, especially during those first 8 years!
“More proof the royals have a lot more privacy than many people realize.” Quite.
Something H+M never seemed to understand. Or they understood and M simply wanted to be chased by paps so they’d have something to complain about
I have to admit that I was disappointed they didn’t come back to Windsor for the service. However, I never would think it has to do with a rift with the king !
It’s just too bad we didn’t get shots of them at church in Norfolk but I know they’d never let that happen as it would look like it was competing with the king and queen at Windsor.
I seem to recall then Prince Charles going to Scotland for Easter on a fairly regular basis
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.
I think the now King often spent Easter away from Windsor. I agree that they are free to celebrate away from the Royals but note they did go to Church and it was observed that they did and reported.
Maybe an unknown win was not being photographed with Prince Andrew. I think that bringing him back to church walks is in poor taste. It benefits William and Catherine to avoid being in the frame with him.
I am convinced you are right about William not wanting any picture of his family around prince Andrew! I have just read that, contrary to what I believed, the royal Easter celebration is a family tradition and NOT a public one, so in a way, yes, William was free not to attend it. Nevertheless, as the Wales children are going back to school right after the Easter week end and as the Middletons and the Waleses live closer to Windsor than to Norfolk, it would have made sense to finish the school holiday in Berkshire not far from Windsor rather than at Anmer Hall thus allowing them to be seen with King Charles. But if William did not choose this simpler solution, he must have his own motive!
Children grow up so quickly, so spending a family holiday in the country with Easter crafts and egg hunts sounds much more fun than a more formal visit with the adults at Windsor.
I agree with you as to no rift with William and Charles. I think the Late Queen was more rigid (old school) and Charles is a lot more easy going (modern) as to family doing their own thing. Charles now, especially after Harry left and THAT rift, knows William’s proven devotion and loyalty, because if anyone understands the pressures he’s under it’s Charles. Also I think their shared health struggles have softened Charles even more. Maybe the old school courtiers still running around aren’t thrilled, but if they're both doing it their own way and have dealt with and are dealing with tough sickness, they can do what they please. Honestly compared to the Harry debacle and possible political crisis that causes, things like this are small potatoes!
The Queen never had a problem with Charles and Camilla spending Easter in Scotland more often than not.
I view this differently; I actually think this was the media's and the public's "consequence" for taking, viewing, and disseminating the paparazzi photos from what was supposed to be a private skiing holiday. Similarly, last year, there was the huge public uproar about the "photoshopped" Mother's Day photo (even though it was quite lovely). So, this year, the PPoW released a video about Mother Nature. I expect that since many people did welcome that reel, and view it in a positive light, W&C will release a photo of C and her children again next Mother's Day.
C&W are fiercly protective of their family, especially of the way the world gets to see their children. They control this by dressing the children in a "royal uniform" and releasing pictures of them on set occassions: Christmas, (typically) Mother's Day, Father's Day, and individual birthdays. Photos are also expected at certain events like the walks on Christmas, Easter, Trooping the Color, and as the children grow older, other big ticket events. This allows C&W to be firmly in control of each child's, and their family's, public image. This is particularly true because Catherine takes the majority of her children's portraits. One major benefit of that along with the children's "uniform" is that they are growing up with a shield around their private life that is closer to what Catherine had than William. Aside from a sentence here and there about George being a loud baby, Charlotte enjoying dance, and the children's pets: we, the public, really don't know anything about the individual children. Their personalities, hobbies, strengths, and weaknesses are developing behind closed doors. This gives the Wales children not only a chance to mature away from private eyes, but also the ability to be a "blank slate" until they are ready for full time public duties. Then, they will have the choice and chance to happily surprise the public with talents (like Catherine playing the piano and releasing a sketch) if and when they decide.
While there are a lot more privacy laws in the UK than the US, I do think that W&C still have a "gentleman's agreement" with many press outlets. This was broken when pictures of the children skiing were published. I think C&W are furious over that intrusion, but don't necessarily want to go to court so quickly after Harry's case. This leaves them with very few options since they have adopted the "never complain, never explain" motto of the late Queen. Thus, they took a route similar to how they dealt with the Mother's Day situation. They took control of what they could, which was taking away the family Easter walk in 2025 that would have provided the media with a lot of money, and the public with updated photos. It's a silent, "you grossly invaded our privacy by stealing pictures of our children when they were not expected to fulfill public duties". The media already received money because of the children and the public cannot complain about not seeing them grow because we did all just see updated photos. Honestly, I think this is a brilliant media strategy for W&C to adopt. And, if it allows the seven cousins to have a massive Easter egg hunt: fantastic! Nothing is more important than security and love, especially during those first 8 years!