The Queen attending the Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor in 2018
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The Queen’s Maundy Thursday cathedral pilgrimage
According to the palace, the Queen’s Easter weekend ‘is usually spent privately with her family’. However, Her Majesty has traditionally started the public festivities on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter Sunday, when she travels to a different cathedral across the country to hand out special coins to ‘men and women in recognition for their contribution to their community and church.’ The ceremony has taken place every year in England since 600 AD and the Queen had the idea of taking it nationwide since the start of her reign in 1952. This year, however, Her Majesty has had to pull out of the beloved tradition, with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall representing her instead.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attending the Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel in 2017
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A family reunion at Windsor Castle on Easter Sunday
Easter for the Royal Family is typically all about getting everyone back together. Every year, most members – including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, and Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – gather at Windsor Castle for the Easter Sunday church service at St George’s Chapel, where crowds of well-wishers gather in the castle grounds with flowers and presents. After the church service at Windsor, the Royal Family usually head back to the castle for a traditional roast lamb lunch.
