The Duchess Of Cambridge Breaks Royal Protocol At Easter Sunday Service

Kate Middleton Easter

by Grazia |
Published on

The Royals turned out en masse for yesterday's Easter Sunday service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor – the church where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to marry this May.

Whilst the Prince and his bride-to-be were not in attendance, The Queen led proceedings alongside a number of her grandchildren, including Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Lady Louisa Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

Also in attendance were Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, whose arrival demonstrated, interestingly, a departure from the norm...

The Duchess, who is set to give birth to her third child in a number of weeks, arrived with her husband by car. Nothing unusual in that, you might think, only tradition dictates that members of the Royal family walk down the hill from Windsor Castle to the Chapel for the Easter service.

The Queen
©Shutterstock

Not only that, but the couple broke with Royal protocol by arriving after The Queen; the 'rules' state that The Queen should arrive last to any event and leave first.

Whilst it's most likely this occurred on account of Catherine's pregnancy – plus, let's not forget, she was also in heels (nude Gianvito Rossi pumps, in case you're wondering) – it does show that in some aspects of Royal life, there is an increasing trend towards the relaxing of past traditions (we need only look at Meghan Markle's inclusion at the Royal Christmas last year to see quite how time's are a-changing...).

Indeed, one of the only other instances where this rule was 'broken,' occurred at the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill at St. Paul's Cathedral in 1952. To show respect to her dearly-cherished former Prime Minister, The Queen chose to arrive before his coffin and family, and left after them too.

But back to this Easter Day, Catherine paired her pumps with a brown Catherine Walker coat, which she last wore in 2015 to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations just before giving birth to Princess Charlotte. We might assume, therefore, that it's clearly very comfortable maternity wear. She completed her outfit with a brown Lock & Co hat and earrings by Balenciaga.

Princess Eugenie Oscar De La Renta
©Shutterstock

By contrast, The Queen looked most colourful dressed in a fuschia pink jacket and hat; her granddaughter pregnant Zara Phillips wore blue and another of her granddaughters, Princess Eugenie, set social media abuzz by wearing a vibrant Oscar de la Renta paint-splattered buttoned dress (it's now sold out from Selfridges, but was on sale for £2,615).

In all, it was a colourful display by the Royals, befitting the arrival of the new season of spring. If it ever stops raining, that is...

NOW SEE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's relationship timeline...

Gallery

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship timeline

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met in London in July 2016.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

They were introduced by mutual friend Markus Anderson, who is the director of Soho House.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle3 of 32

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In October 2016, the Express became the first newspaper to publish news that Prince Harry had a new girlfriend.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

On November 8th 2016, Kensington Palace released an unprecedented statement which referring to Markle as Harry's girlfriend for the first time.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In the statement, Prince Harry condemned the 'wave of abuse and harrassment' faced by Markle, saying that he was 'worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.'

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Prince Harry and Meghan Marklec

'It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm,' the statement continued.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The couple were papped together for the first time in December 2016, shopping for a Christmas tree in London at the Pines and Needles store.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle8 of 32

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Later that week, they were seen on London's West End, catching a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle9 of 32

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In February, Prince Harry wore a his 'n' hers bracelet on the cover of Town & Country magazine, just weeks after Markle was pictured wearing the same one on Instagram.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In March 2017, Meghan joined Prince Harry in the Caribbean for the wedding of his friend's Tom 'Skippy' Inskip and Lara Hughes-Young.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

It was the first time that Markle accompanied Harry to a wedding, marking another milestone occasion for the couple.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The first public event attended by the couple was the polo at Coworth Park in May 2017.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Later in May, Markle attended the party portion of Pippa Middleton's wedding to James Middelton.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry was seen driving her to the event after the church ceremony.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The couple were photographed together the following day at the wheelchair tennis.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The couple 'broke with royal protocol' by holding hands and appearing affectionate while at the Invictus Games.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Meghan referred to Harry as her boyfriend numerous times, saying: 'We're a couple. We're in love. I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people understand is that this is our time.'

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In early November 2017, it was reported that Meghan Markle was leaving Suits after seven series.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Much was made of Markle's choice of outfit: ripped jeans and a white blouse called 'The Husband'.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Although Prince Harry was sat next to First Lady Melania Trump at the event, rather than his girlfriend, she was only seated a few rows behind him.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The couple made their first official public appearance in September, when Markle attended the opening of Prince Harry's Invictus Games.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In mid-November 2017, bookies suspending betting on an impending royal engagement, as speculation grew that an announcement was about to be made.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

On November 27th 2017, Prince Charles announced the engagement of his younger son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after 15 months of dating.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The couple later appeared at a photocall, with Markle wearing a white dress coat by Canadian brand Line The Label. The website has subsequently crashed.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The engagement ring, by Cleave and Company, was reportedly designed by Prince Harry himself, using two stones that belonged to Princess Diana.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

When asked by waiting photographers if the proposal was romantic, Harry joked 'of course!'

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The couple indulged in some PDA at the closing ceremony.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Meghan wore a maroon midi dress with a pleated chiffon skirt by one of her favourite Canadian brands Aritzia.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

She teamed it with a matching burgundy biker jacket by Mackage.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry reportedly spent time with Meghan's mother Doria while at the Games too.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry was photographed kissing Meghan.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In late September 2017, it was reported that Meghan had met the Queen, prompting speculation that the relationship was getting serious.

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