King Charles III has reportedly been eager to return to royal duties, with one family member saying he’s been “hugely frustrated” that treatments for an unspecified cancer have left him on the sidelines. But on Sunday, he’ll step back into the public eye for one of his first appearances since his diagnosis earlier this year, albeit with notable adjustments to protect his health.
Every Easter Sunday, the family gathers at Windsor Castle for services at St. George’s, the chapel on the palace grounds. This year, Charles will keep up with that tradition to attend church, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. Queen Camilla will also attend the Easter Day Mattins Service, her second stop at church in recent days: in an historic first, she stood in for the king at the Royal Maundy Service at Worcester Cathedral on Thursday, though Charles did send a pre-recorded message.
“It is, for me, a great sadness that I cannot be with you today,” he told congregants via an audio message played at the event.
One hopes that sadness will abate on Sunday when he is expected to lead a “smaller than usual contingent” of royals to and from the chapel, the Telegraph reports, characterizing this year’s event as “Easter Lite.” He is expected to enter the church through Galilee Porch, and will—assuming the weather is fair—greet those gathered from a distance. These tweaks will reduce his contact with others, a necessary precaution during cancer treatments, which often suppress one’s natural ability to fight even common infections.
At the service, Charles will also take a seat alongside Camilla at the “King’s seat,” which, in a stroke of luck, has always been set at a distance from the rest of the congregation. However, he will skip the usual post-service reception, and he will not attend the annual Easter family lunch.
Buckingham Palace has not confirmed which other members of the royal family will be at the Sunday events, but we do know who won’t be: Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The Wales’s children are currently on Easter break from school, which doesn’t end until April 17; the family is reportedly hunkered down at Sandringham as Middleton continues to recover from a January surgery and subsequent cancer treatments of her own.
According to the Telegraph, though William is expected to resume royal duties after the kids return to school, Middleton isn’t expected to jump back into the spotlight quite yet. “The Princess will not attend any public engagements until her own medical team rules that she is well enough,” the paper reports. It is hoped that the entire family could reunite for the annual D-Day commemoration on June 6, but at present, nothing is certain.