British royal family Easter service to continue without two princesses

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will not attend the Royal Family’s traditional Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle. The daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson have made “alternative plans” for Easter.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will attend the Easter Matins service, with the Prince and Princess of Wales also expected to be present, having missed the event last year, BBC reveals.

The Easter gathering at St George’s Chapel is an annual family event, where members of the royal family are photographed arriving for the service. While they might not attend this year, the door remains open for future royal events and “family celebrations,” such as the Christmas gathering at Sandringham.

The sisters’ absence is understood to be with the agreement of the King. Last Easter, Mountbatten-Windsor, Ferguson, and their daughters all attended the Windsor service.

Since then, Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and has moved to Sandringham, Norfolk. He no longer lives with his ex-wife, who also left the former Royal Lodge home in Windsor.

The family has been engulfed by the Epstein scandal, with continuing questions about links to the US sex offender. A US lawmaker, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, last week asked Ferguson to testify about her ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, Princess Eugenie stepped down as patron of charity Anti-Slavery International, a role she had held for seven years.

By Sabina Mammadli