King Charles III and Queen Camilla led the royal family at the annual Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, joined by several senior royals including Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and their husbands.
The occasion marked another step in the King’s steady return to public duties following his cancer diagnosis.
But while the gathering included a range of familiar faces, one absence from the royal family’s official social media coverage didn’t go unnoticed: Prince Andrew.
Although the Duke of York attended the service—arriving alongside his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York—he was conspicuously absent from the photos shared by the royal family’s official Instagram account, @theroyalfamily.
The post highlighted King Charles and Queen Camilla greeting members of the public, along with images of other key royals such as the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and James, Earl of Wessex.
Followers were quick to comment on the omission. “Where is Andrew? I don’t see him in these pictures, I wonder why?” one user asked, echoing a sentiment shared by many. The post has since attracted hundreds of comments and reignited conversations about Prince Andrew’s ongoing position within the monarchy.
Since stepping back from public duties in 2019 amid controversy, the Duke of York has largely maintained a low profile. While he continues to be a member of the royal family, he no longer undertakes official engagements on behalf of the Crown.
His appearance at this year’s Easter service marked his first public outing with the royal family since missing the traditional Christmas Day walk in Sandringham. It also followed renewed scrutiny over reports linking him to a suspected Chinese spy—further complicating his already tenuous public standing.
The decision to exclude Prince Andrew from the official Easter post appears to reflect King Charles’s broader strategy to modernise and streamline the monarchy. Since his accession, the King has been focused on creating a more efficient and transparent royal household, with a core group of working royals dedicated to public service.
As this new chapter of the monarchy continues to take shape, the Easter omission may signal a more deliberate distancing from non-working royals, reaffirming the Crown’s emphasis on duty, service, and a modern image.
