Prince George and Princess Charlotte Make Their Royal Easter Debut

Prince William Kate Middleton Prince George Princess Charlotte — (Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s another royal first for Prince George and Princess Charlotte this year—today marks their Royal Easter debut, the first time they have joined the royal family at the Easter Sunday church service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. (Marie Claire reported recently about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s intentional approach to bring both George and Charlotte to more royal events like this, so they can experience these milestones together as a brother-sister team.)

The Cambridges were a united front in blue, with Kate head-to-toe in the color from her dress to her headpiece to her shoes. Charlotte also wore a blue floral dress and navy cardigan to the service, while William and George both wore a suit and tie. And, according to PEOPLE, George even got to practice his royal handshake while meeting one of the clergymen after the service.

Prince Louis, who turns four on Saturday, wasn’t in attendance—but we bet he (and George and Charlotte!) will be getting plenty of candy today, if a 2020 video call his parents undertook is any indication. William and Kate’s first-ever full royal engagement via video call back in 2020—as the COVID-19 pandemic forced them into lockdown—happened to fall on Easter that year. Towards the end of the call, William said of the holiday “there will be a lot of chocolate being eaten here, don’t worry!” before Kate turned to her husband and cheekily replied “you keep eating it!”

The Easter service appearance follows George and Charlotte’s attendance at a Service of Thanksgiving for their late great-grandfather, Prince Philip, on March 29 at Westminster Abbey.

Noticeably absent from Easter service this morning was the Queen, who turns 96 on Thursday; according to the Mirror, it’s the first time she’s missed the event in over 50 years.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, marked the holiday in Scotland, as they traditionally do, per PEOPLE. But there were plenty of other royals on hand to take in the service with the Cambridges, including Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and their children Louise and James; Princess Eugenie; Peter Phillips—son of Princess Anne—and daughters Savannah and Isla; and Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, who attended with husband Mike and eldest daughter Mia.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.