Did Kate and William ‘snub’ royal family by missing Easter Sunday service in Windsor? Expert weighs in

Kate Middelton and Prince William have "ducked out" of royal tradition for the second year in a row, missing the key Easter Sunday service in Windsor and choosing to spend the Easter weekend in Norfolk instead. Their decision was reportedly approved by King Charles. A royal expert has claimed the couple’s absence from Easter service was “not a snub.”

William and Kate staying away from the tradition meant they could spend quality time with their children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – before they return to school. Various other members of the royal family joined Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor, including Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, and also Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.

‘They've had the King's permission, so it's not as if it's a snub or anything like that’

Discussing Kate and William’s decision, Royal Correspondent at The Sun, Charles Rae, said it was not a sub but only showed their "devotion to their children" after Kate’s cancer diagnosis. "I'll tell you exactly what's going on, that the Wales's have decided that they're going to spend the Easter weekend with their family in Norfolk, and the whole ducking out, if you like, of the traditional Easter service,” Rae told GB News.

"Last year they didn't attend the Easter service either, because Easter came just after the Princess of Wales was diagnosed with cancer,” he added.

Rae noted that the couple had the King’s "permission" to miss the event, and stressed that the decision was not a "snub" to the royal family.

"They've had the King's permission, so it's not as if it's a snub or anything like that, it's all above board,” Rae said. "They have recently returned from France where they had a little skiing holiday, but they wanted to specifically spend the rest of this Easter holiday because the kids go back to school - so it's not a snub, they've just decided to do their own thing."

Rae also claimed that the Waleses are going to host an "Easter egg hunt" in the estate of Anmer Hall. "As far as I'm being told, the Wales's will be having an Easter egg hunt in the grounds somewhere - so it's all devoted to the children, as it should be with Easter in any case,” he said.

Rae called William a "family man" and said the family are "more modern" in comparison to other members of the monarchy. "We'll see them back at Windsor at some stage, but I think there is a bit of a sense of time is running out for William as well, before he becomes King,” Rae said. "Let's not also put aside the fact that William is very much his own man. For years and years, we've always complained about how the monarchy needs to be more and modern and everything else. Well, they are now much more modern, as we've seen on a variety of issues that they deal with."

He added, "And William is a very much a family man, along with Catherine, and they devote as much spare time as they have to their children. And I think that's quite right. I don't think anybody could possibly criticise them for doing that. They're still key members of the Royal Family, whenever they turn up they are the principals there who do the job. But I think he gets a bit more leeway than previous people have had."