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Daily Record
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Eve Beattie

Inside royals' first Easter without Queen as strict rule relaxed and Kate given new job

Easter will be bittersweet for the royals this year - for more reasons than one.

The holy weekend will be the first one since the death of Queen Elizabeth - who would spend the holiday with her family at Windsor.

Additionally, this Easter Sunday marks the second anniversary of the death of Prince Philip.

As always, it's expected that the royals, including King Charles and Camilla, will gather at Windsor to enjoy family time and no doubt reminisce about the Queen and Prince Philip.

Here we take a look at how King Charles will change the traditions.

Good Friday tradition

Good Friday marks the start of the Easter weekend and the start of royal traditions.

And their custom, like many across the country, is to eat hot cross buns and a delicious fish dinner to mark the day.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady told OK!: "Easter Court was alive and buzzing when the whole family came to Windsor in those days.

"We were busy making Hot Cross Buns for breakfast on Good Friday and the kitchens were full of hustle and bustle."

According to Darren, the fish served up for Good Friday is hake.

Chocolate treats

No Easter celebration would be complete without an abundance of chocolate - and it seems this is the same for the children in the family.

Darren also recalled one year when a prank carried out by schoolboy Prince William left his younger cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie "terrified".

He decided to make a Hickory Dickory Dock nursery rhyme-themed chocolate egg and sent it up to the nursery.

Prince William with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice (( Image: UK Press via Getty Images))

He explained: "It had a clock on the top striking one and a sugared mouse peeking out of a mousehole.

"We sent it up to the nursery on the silver tray, but 15 minutes later the Footman brought it back.

"He said, 'Nanny asked me to return this. Prince William has just stood on a chair and bitten the mouse’s head off, frightening Beatrice and Eugenie.'"

Kate's new job

Another Easter tradition for the royal kids is likely to be an Easter egg hunt, and according to royal expert Ingrid Seward, the Princess of Wales could be the one organising it this year.

Prince William with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice ( Image: UK Press via Getty Images) (( Image: UK Press via Getty Images))

She told the Sun: "Kate is a great organiser and will almost certainly organise an Easter egg hunt – the children 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."

Church outing

Most of the public Easter celebrations will be on Sunday when various members of the Royal Family will be seen attending a church service at St George's Chapel.

In 2022, William and Kate led the royals at the service and brought along their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte for the first time.

The late Queen nearly always attended church over the Easter weekend (( Image: AFP via Getty Images))

Others that attended the service included the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Lady Louise Windsor, James the new Earl of Wessex as well as Mike and Zara Tindall with daughter Mia.

Now, this year, royal fans will be hoping to see Prince Louis, who made his church debut last Christmas at Sandringham.

Church is said to come after the royals enjoy a breakfast of eggs and exchange small Easter gifts.

Easter feast - with strict rule 'relaxed'

On their return from church, the royals then usually sit down to a hearty roast dinner - usually lamb.

But according to Ingrid, other menu items, which are all sourced for royal estates, could include venison, pheasant chicken, spring vegetables, new potatoes, carrots, salmon caught in the River Dee and roast ham.

King Charles with his middle grandchild Prince Louis (( Image: Getty Images))

However, it could be that Charles has relaxed a strict rule on dining that his late mother used to insist on - and it would have affected Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine told The Sun: "They will all have dinner together but not the young children they will eat in the nursery dining room.

"The Queen always said until they could hold a knife and fork properly they could not eat at the table, but Charles might have relaxed that rule a bit. But dinner is only for grown-ups."

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