British royals attend Easter service at Windsor without Andrew

LONDON: Members of the British royal family attended the traditional Easter service at Windsor on Sunday, appearing together publicly for the first time since the arrest of former Prince Andrew in February. Andrew and his family were not present at the gathering.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived at St George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, west of London, on a sunny morning alongside other members of the royal family. The BBC described the group as ‘slightly slimmed down’.

The appearance marked the family’s first public outing together since Andrew was arrested following revelations contained in released messages linked to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The files, laid bare Epstein’s longstanding connections with Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson.

Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, attended the Matins service with their three children. Catherine wore a beige suit and hat, and the family smiled and waved to wellwishers as they entered the chapel.

This was Catherine’s first attendance at the Easter Matins service in three years. She did not attend in 2024 while undergoing cancer treatment, and her family chose not to take part in last year’s event.

Also among those present were Charles’s brother Prince Edward and his son, as well as the king’s sister Princess Anne and her husband.

Neither Andrew nor Ferguson attended this year’s Easter service. Ferguson has also been stripped of her Duchess of York title. Although divorced, Andrew and Ferguson had until recently continued living together, and both made an unexpected appearance at the same event last year.

Their daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, said before the service that they had made alternative plans. A royal source, however, said they would be seen at future family celebrations. Eugenie and Beatrice, who retain their princess titles, had attended a Christmas church service last year without their parents.

Separately, The Sun tabloid reported that Prince Edward visited his brother Andrew at the Sandringham estate in eastern England this week, making him the first royal to see Andrew in two months.

King Charles, 77, is due to travel to the United States later this month on his first state visit there since becoming monarch.