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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

Inside royals' first Easter without Queen - strict rule relaxed and Kate's new job

It is set to be a bittersweet Easter for the royals this year - for more reasons than one.

The holy weekend is the first one since the death of the late Queen, who was known to cherish this time of year, spending it with her family at Windsor.

But not just that, this year Easter Sunday marks the second anniversary of the death of her devoted husband Prince Philip.

Like always, it is expected that the royals, including King Charles and Camilla, will all gather in Windsor for the holiday weekend to enjoy family time and no doubt share their happy memories of the late couple.

The royals heading to church last Easter Sunday (Jeff Gilbert/WPA Pool/REX/Shutterstock)

But now Charles is head of the Firm, will there be any changes to their traditional celebrations? Here we take a look...

Good Friday tradition

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

And their Good Friday custom, like many others, 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.

Mike and Zara Tindall with some of the other royals last Easter (GC Images)

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

So what kind of fish was served up for Good Friday dinner? Well according to Darren, it was hake.

Chocolate treats

No Easter celebration would be complete without chocolate - and it seems the royal kids get their fill on the holiday.

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

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

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

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

Kate with William, George and Charlotte last Easter (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, another source of fun 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.

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

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

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

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

Others seen turning up for 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.

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'

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

Once returning 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.

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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