Remember when Prince William and Kate Middleton broke royal protocol at Easter? Here's why it's unlikely to happen again

These customs are more obvious when the royals gather together in public and apart from Christmas Day, one of the biggest moments for this all year is Easter Sunday. The monarch is usually joined by plenty of their nearest and dearest for the Easter Mattins service held at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

We’d expect this tradition to continue on 20th April, but something that probably wouldn’t happen again now is Prince William and Kate breaking protocol like they did in 2018. The couple were pictured happily arriving for the service, but they were rather later than they’d planned to be.

So much so, that the late Queen Elizabeth was there before them and this isn’t really the done thing. At formal occasions like church services the more senior royals typically arrive last and no-one ranks more highly than the monarch.

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In light of this, we would have expected the Prince and Princess of Wales to have been at St George’s Chapel before Queen Elizabeth. It might surprise some that this mistake was made but according to Hello! the reason for their lateness is something that we can all relate to

The publication’s royal correspondent Emily Nash claimed that the future King and Queen got held up in traffic on the M4. They had apparently been traveling to the service after spending the Easter weekend with Michael and Carole Middleton in Bucklebury.

Given how relaxed they looked as they arrived, it’s possible that they or a member of their team updated Queen Elizabeth en route that they would be there after her. The Queen didn’t appear to be fazed afterwards and this hasn’t happened again since.

It’s also unlikely ever to occur again as Prince William and Kate relocated from London to Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate in 2022. Living less than five minutes’ drive from the Castle and Chapel makes it easier than ever to get there promptly.

They will probably have also learnt from what happened in 2018 and could allow extra time for travelling if they are at Kate’s parents’ home over Easter again. Alternatively, they could remove any risk altogether by hosting them at theirs on occasions when they do attend the service.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also now have the additional responsibility of getting their children suited and booted ready for church. Prince George and Princess Charlotte accompanied them for the first time in 2022.

A year later the then-five-year-old Prince Louis attended the Easter Sunday service, making it a full Wales family affair. If Prince William and Kate do join King Charles and Queen Camilla on 20th April then we would anticipate that the kids will be there too.

Many fans would be delighted to see them over the Easter weekend, especially because in 2024 the Prince and Princess of Wales didn’t attend the service. Easter Sunday 2024 fell just over a week after Kate made her cancer diagnosis public in a poignant video message.

In January this year Her Royal Highness confirmed that she was in remission. She’s been easing back into royal duties and events over the past few months, making an Easter appearance more likely.