Easter Sunday 2023 will be the first that the royal family will spend without Queen Elizabeth II, after her death last September.
The family usually celebrates the religious holiday at Windsor Castle, and will attend a church service on Easter Sunday (9 April) at St George’s Chapel.
The late monarch would also travel to different cathedrals across the country to hand out special coins to individuals in recognition of their contribution to their community and church.
But this year, the royal family will observe their first Easter with King Charles III as monarch instead.
Royal expert and biographer Ingrid Seward believes that it will be a happy celebration instead of a sombre time as they reflect on the years past.
She toldThe Sun that members of the royal family will likely carry out “some special prayers in the private chapel within the castle just for the family and immediate household”.
Seward, author of Diana: An Intimate Portrait and My Husband and I: The Inside Story of 70 Years of the Royal Marriage, also believes there will be a mention of both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Easter service.
She predicts that members of the family who will be at Windsor Castle include the Princess Royal and Tim Laurence; Zara and Mike Tindall and their children; Peter Phillips and his children and grandchildren; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with their husbands and children; Lord Snowdon and his children; and the Queen’s niece Lady Sarah Chatto and her children.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will likely be in attendance, “unless they are away skiing”. But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their two children are not expected to be in the UK, let alone attend the Easter celebrations with the rest of the family.
The Queen Consort’s children, Tom Parker-Bowles and Laura Lopes, and their children may also go to Windsor for Easter.
The Duke of York will also likely be there with his daughters, but it is not known if Sarah Ferguson will be in attendance. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their children may attend, as they were there last year.
“This is King Charles’ first Easter and although he won’t be there for more than a few days, it is important he keeps up the tradition of the Easter Court,” Seward said.
“It is an opportunity for the whole family to get together before the coronation and no one is going to refuse an invitation from the King, whatever they are doing.”
Previous years have seen several of the Royal Palaces hosting egg hunts and egg painting workshops for Easter.
Seward foresees Kate Middleton taking up the mantle to organise an Easter egg hunt over the weekend, due to her skills as a “great organiser”.
“They can also go to the royal mews and see the horses there and there is an indoor pool for swimming and ponies for them to ride,” she added.
