This year hasn’t exactly got off to the best of starts for the royals and Easter could show where things stand between certain family members. All eyes will be on King Charles, Queen Camilla and their relatives as they walk to church on Easter Sunday, in what will be the royals' first public appearance all together since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest in February.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes that the occasion will be particularly "telling" when it comes to Andrew's daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice.
"We’ve yet to see proof that William and Kate and the other royals are in fact distancing themselves from Beatrice and Eugenie - Easter will be telling," she claimed to The Mirror. "But I have no doubt that William is extremely sensitive to public opinion."
In her view, the future King "will do what is necessary to listen and to protect the reputation of the monarchy". The royals are incredibly aware of how negatively Andrew’s links to the late Jeffrey Epstein have affected The Firm’s reputation already.
He has consistently and strenuously denied all allegations of wrongdoing, but "notwithstanding" this, he was stripped of his Prince title by King Charles. It was reported that Prince William was involved in these discussions and in royal expert Russell Myers’ book, William & Catherine, he wrote that the Prince also pushed for his father and grandmother to act after Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019.
"In the aftermath, William spoke to his father to implore him and the Queen to take immediate action, fearing not only the public backlash but for his own future," Myers alleges.
Questions about the monarchy’s relevancy have been arising more than ever in recent months. Although Princess Beatrice and Eugenie haven’t been accused of anything themselves, they have been included in the scrutiny of their parents by association.
Every time they’re spotted, the coverage referencing Andrew isn't too far behind and that could be the case for quite a while. With this in mind, the York sisters, who are still Princesses, might choose to have quiet Easter celebrations this year.
If they go to church with the Royal Family instead, as Jennie noted, it will be "telling" to see how their relatives, particularly the senior royals like the Prince and Princess of Wales, interact with them. It’s been suggested that King Charles is the "one royal" fighting their corner and he did invite them to Christmas at Sandringham.
At the time Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been stripped of his title, but he hadn’t yet been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and more Epstein files hadn’t been published.
Like Christmas, the Easter Sunday service is essentially a private occasion and yet the royals are also photographed going to and from the church, meaning that there is always an element of presenting the family to the world and we’ll have to see who joins the King this year.
