King and Queen to appear at church on Easter Sunday

The King is to make his most significant public appearance since he was diagnosed with cancer when he attends church on Easter Sunday.

Charles, 75, will join the Queen and other members of the royal family at the annual Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle this weekend.

As Buckingham Palace announced the forthcoming engagement, Charles was pictured carrying out official duties for the first time since the Princess of Wales shared her cancer news with the nation.

Audience at Buckingham Palace
The King during a meeting with community and faith leaders at the Palace (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The monarch, with a folded cardboard place name in front of him labelled “HM The King”, was shown in conversation around a large antique table in the Palace’s Billiard Room.

He was welcoming alumni from the Windsor Leadership Trust, which encourages multi-faith dialogue, harmony and understanding at a time of heightened international tensions.

Audience at Buckingham Palace
The King greets Dame Martina Milburn ahead of the Palace meeting (Jonathan Brady/PA)

It will be seen as the King making a move to reassure the public following the shock news.

But the service will be a smaller version of the annual gathering, with less members of the royal family as the King has paused public-facing duties while he continues treatment for cancer himself.

Princess of Wales cancer announcement
The Princess of Wales delivering her video message (Kensington Palace/PA)

Kate, the Prince of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will miss the service on Sunday.

The family are spending the Easter holidays together as they adjust to Kate’s diagnosis, which was discovered in post-operative tests following her major abdominal surgery.

Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel – 2023
The Wales family at church on Easter Sunday in 2023 (Yui Mok/PA)

Although the Easter service is within the grounds of the castle, the King and Queen will be seen arriving by the media.

Royal arrivals at the chapel’s Galilee Porch are often watched by staff living at Windsor, who usually gather on a grassy bank nearby or look on from their doorsteps.

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