Kate Middleton and Prince William surprised royal fans with their decision to skip the Royal Family's Easter Sunday church service on April 20. Some sources even suggested that Kate and William's absence "raised eyebrows at the palace," but there's one person who allegedly benefited from them not being there—Prince Andrew.
After skipping King Charles's Christmas celebration at Sandringham in 2024, Prince Andrew joined the Royal Family at church on Easter Sunday. According to The Sun, royal expert Phil Dampier explained, "It was very much a show of family unity....He's not totally out in the cold, but I think it's too early to say it's any kind of comeback for him."
Dampier also suggested that Prince William's decision to skip the Easter service was likely pivotal in Andrew attending. "It is absolutely true to say that William is one of the driving forces behind making sure there's no future for the Duke of York," the royal expert said.
Elaborating on William's alleged feelings about Prince Andrew, Dampier told The Sun, "He doesn't believe he can make a comeback, and there is, I'm told, quite a lot of friction between them. It made it a lot easier, I think, for Andrew that William wasn't there."
As for why the Duke of York was in attendance at the Easter Sunday service, People reported, "While Prince Andrew no longer undertakes duties on behalf of the monarchy, he has continued to join the royals at family events such as their annual Christmas church walk or funeral services. Easter is considered a family event, and he also attended last year."
Discussing Kate and William's Easter absence, a source told Us Weekly, "This is a big deal." The source further alleged, "It's royal tradition for the family to attend this together. Everyone understood the family not attending last year when Kate was sick but there's been a lot of raised eyebrows at the palace about William's decision to skip again this year." The source also suggested the couple's decision to skip the family event could be viewed as "a snub."
