King Charles III gave Princess Charlotte a teasing poke on the shoulder as the royal family filed into Easter service at St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle on April 5, and the 10-year-old smiled back. Prince William, in a sleek blue suit, watched the exchange with a grin as Catherine, Princess Of Wales arrived in a taupe skirt suit and matching hat.
The family’s appearance marked William and Kate Middleton’s first at the annual Easter service since 2023. They missed the 2024 gathering weeks after Kate shared her cancer diagnosis, and in 2025 they chose a private Easter celebration at their Norfolk country home instead. This year, the couple was joined by Princess Anne, Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Edward and James, Earl of Wessex.
The service also offered a small public glimpse of a royal family that has spent the past year recalibrating around illness, duty and childrearing. On Feb. 18, William said during a Radio 1 Life Hacks: Mental Health Special panel that his three children talk about their feelings sometimes too much, adding, “I get all the details, which I love, you know, it's amazing.” He said the hardest part is the urge to step in and solve everything, explaining, “You feel a sense that you need to fix it, for everyone and that I find quite difficult,” and that he has to remind himself “that you don't need to fix everything, but you need to listen and it's important just to be OK with those feelings and those comments.”
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The contrast on Sunday was hard to miss. William and Kate’s return to the family’s Easter service was not just a ceremonial appearance after a year away. It was a sign that, after the shock of 2024 and the quiet 2025 holiday at home, the Prince and Princess of Wales are again stepping back into the center of the royal calendar.
