Prince William and Kate Middleton skip royal family's Easter service in surprise move

A few familiar faces were royally missed during this holiday outing.

, his wife  and their children , 11, , 9, and , 6, did not join  and  for the royal family’s annual Easter Matlins service at St George's Chapel in Windsor April 20.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are instead spending the weekend at their country home in Norfolk with their kids, who are still on a break from school, according to multiple reports.

The service was attended by several members of the Royal family, including Princess Anne and husband Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.

In addition to William and Kate, Anne's son Peter Phillips, daughter Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall, and Edward and Sophie's daughter Lady Louise were also absent from the event.

This marks the second year in a row that William and Kate and their children have not attended the . The 2024 holiday had taken place a little more than a week after Kate announced .

The 43-year-old has since made several public appearances, including at the  in March.

Kate — who  in September — .

"I remain focused on recovery," the princess added in her statement on , formerly Twitter. "As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal. I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. There is much to look forward to. Thank you to everyone for your continued support."

 in March 2024, marking his first major public appearance since .

His participation in this year's holiday event comes three weeks after he .

"Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement obtained by E! News March 27. “His Majesty’s afternoon engagements were therefore postponed."

The 76-year-old later released a holiday message. "There are three virtues that the world still needs — faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love,” he  on his website. "It is with these timeless truths in my mind, and my heart, that I wish you all a blessed and peaceful Easter."