King will attend Easter service at Windsor, but Princess to miss out
THE King is to make his most significant public appearance since he was diagnosed with cancer when he attends church on Easter Sunday.
Charles (75) will join the Queen and other members of the royal family at the annual Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, this weekend.
As Buckingham Palace announced the plan, Charles was pictured carrying out official duties for the first time since the Princess of Wales shared her cancer news with the nation.
Charles met community and faith leaders from across the UK in London yesterday.
The monarch, with a folded cardboard place name in front of him labelled “HM The King”, was shown in conversation around a large antique table in the palace’s billiard room.
He was welcoming alumni from the Windsor Leadership Trust, which encourages multi-faith dialogue, harmony and understanding at a time of heightened international tensions.
Confirmation of the King’s Easter Sunday appearance comes just days after Kate released an emotional video message revealing she has started a course of preventative chemotherapy. It will be seen as the King making a move to reassure the public following the shock news.
But the service will be a smaller version of the annual gathering, with fewer members of the royal family as the King has paused public-facing duties while he continues treatment for cancer.
The head of state was described by the palace as being “so proud” of the princess for her courage in speaking out, and is said to be in “the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law”.
Kate, the Prince of Wales and their children Prince George,
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will miss the service on Sunday.
The family are spending the Easter holidays together as they adjust to Kate’s diagnosis, which was discovered in post-operative tests following her major abdominal surgery.
The King’s treatment for cancer was announced at the start of February, but he has been carrying out low-key official duties behind palace walls.
Although the Easter service is within the grounds of the castle, the King and Queen will be seen arriving by the media.
Royal arrivals at the chapel’s Galilee Porch are often watched by staff living at Windsor, who usually gather on a grassy bank nearby or look on from their doorsteps.