Who’s on The Royal Easter guest list? From rare attendees to the princesses with ‘alternative plans’ and cast-out members with no invitation

King Charles’s Easter Sunday guest list is set to be on the sparse side this year amid the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Last year, a 14-strong contingent, led by the King and Queen, attended the annual service at Windsor’s St George’s Chapel, including Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

But this weekend, the line-up is expected to look rather different with Andrew and Fergie cast out of the royal fold due to their ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, while Beatrice and Eugenie have made ‘alternative plans for this Easter’.

While their father is investigated by police over allegations of misconduct in public office, the King’s permission has been sought and granted for the sisters to stay away from the celebrations.

The news of their absence from the Easter line-up comes despite sources stressing that the pair remain a key part of the family and will ‘be seen’ at future celebrations.

Meanwhile, there is no question of Prince Harry or Meghan Markle joining the Royals for Easter, with the couple expected to remain in Montecito with their two children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.

The Royal Family’s Easter Sunday service is typically only attended by members of The Firm and their engaged or married partners.

Yet despite being an integral part of the royal calendar, Kate and William missed the event in both 2024 and 2025 in order to spend quality time in Norfolk with Princes George and Louis, and Princess Charlotte, before they returned to school.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to join the King and Queen in Windsor on Sunday, much to the delight of royal fans disappointed by their previous absences.

Now, as the family navigates the fallout of the Epstein scandal, speculation is mounting surrounding who could be set to attend this weekend’s annual service. So, who has made the cut?

Key senior members of The Royal Family 

This weekend, their Majesties are expected to be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Sir Tim Laurence, alongside the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their children. Pictured: members of The Firm arrive at the annual service in 2025

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend this weekend’s Easter Sunday service in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace confirmed earlier this week.

Their Majesties are also expected to be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Sir Tim Laurence, alongside the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their children.

It remains unknown whether other key royals, such as Zara and Mike Tindall, alongside Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling, could be in attendance.  

Charles’s Easter Sunday engagement will be seen as the King making a move to reassure the public following the tranche of news surrounding Andrew’s controversial ties to Epstein.

The King and Queen will go to the Easter Mattins Service – as it is officially known – which will run for one hour from 10.45am until 11.45am, according to the chapel.

The service will be preceded by Holy Communion from 8.30am until 9am. There will also be a said Eucharist from 12pm to 12.45pm, then evensong at 3.30pm to 4.15pm.

Although the Easter service is within the grounds of the castle, the King and Queen will be seen arriving, and are often watched by staff living at Windsor, who usually gather on a grassy bank nearby or watch from their doorsteps. 

Following the annual church service, members of the family return to Windsor Castle to enjoy a roast lamb lunch, though other items sourced from the royal estates could also be part of the meal, including carrots, new potatoes, venison and roast ham.

The Prince and Princess of Wales 

While the Prince and Princess of Wales have previously missed the Royal Easter celebrations, this year, they are expected to make an appearance at the high-profile event

While the Prince and Princess of Wales have previously missed the Royal Easter celebrations, this year, they are expected to make an appearance at the high-profile event. 

Last year, the Waleses celebrated Easter with the Middleton family at Sandringham, and even managed to make an incognito visit to a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church alongside Kate’s parents.   

Once inside, Prince George,  Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were given hot cross buns to enjoy as part of the holiday celebrations.

They were all handed wrapped hot cross buns by the vicar, Canon Paul Williams, as they left.

About 150 royal fans congregated outside the church, hoping to catch a glimpse of the family, but were left disappointed when they left the church through the back door.

While the Prince and Princess have scaled back royal engagements amid the Easter period to prioritise spending family time with their children, the royal couple are expected to join senior members of The Firm for the service at Windsor. 

In 2024, the Princess of Wales missed the service as she underwent treatment for cancer, while the family sought to adjust to her tricky diagnosis.

An aide told The Mirror at the time: ‘The family just want to go away for Easter, spend time together, the five of them, close off from the world and move on.’

They usually spend the children’s holidays at spacious Anmer Hall in Norfolk – their country home – and are known for revelling in ‘outdoorsy’ activities such as cycling and walking.

Beatrice and Eugenie set to spend Easter elsewhere, while Andrew and Sarah are excluded

Amid the ensuing scandal surrounding their parents’ relations to Epstein, both Beatrice and Eugenie (pictured at the 2025 service) are set to spend their Easter weekends away from senior members of the family at Windsor

Meanwhile, neither Andrew nor Sarah Ferguson are included in the royal Easter guest list this year. Pictured: Princess Eugenie and her mother Sarah Ferguson attend the Easter Mattins service at St George’s Chapel last year

Amid the ensuing scandal surrounding their parents’ relations to Epstein, both Beatrice and Eugenie are set to spend their Easter weekends away from senior members of the family at Windsor.

As a result, the princesses’ respective husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, have also been excluded from the line-up. 

Meanwhile, neither Andrew nor Sarah Ferguson are included in the royal Easter guest list this year.

Last year, the disgraced former prince joined his brother and other senior royals in Berkshire, alongside his ex-wife. However, he has since had his royal titles removed and been cast out of the royal fold, living in a new Sandringham home.

Fergie, meanwhile, has not been seen in public since December 12, aside from a few possible sightings, having dramatically disappeared from view amid the ongoing fallout of her links to Epstein.

The news of Beatrice and Eugenie’s Easter absence comes after it was previously revealed that the princesses had been banned from Royal Ascot following the arrest of their father.

The Mail on Sunday understood that the move was part of a wider decision to exclude the Princesses from all public-facing events for the foreseeable future.

It follows high-level Palace meetings about the role the pair should play given that serious questions remain about the extent of their relationship with the paedophile financier, including financial links.

The news comes amid reports of a gulf between the sisters and the Prince and Princess of Wales, who are said to be particularly keen to keep them at ‘arm’s length’ until details of any links are clearer.

A well-placed source told the MoS: ‘I’ve spoken to my friend who works at Ascot and they said the girls have been told they can’t be there this year.

‘Beatrice has taken it the hardest. She’s been completely blindsided by all of this.’

Prince William is also said to have advised other Royals not to appear in photographs alongside the pair ‘for the rest of the year’. 

No invitations sent to Montecito 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be more than 5,000 miles away in Montecito. Meghan Markle has never attended a Royal Easter service, while Harry has not been seen at the traditional festivities since 2019 (pictured)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are unlikely to make an appearance at this year’s Easter celebrations, but instead will be more than 5,000 miles away in California.

Meghan Markle has never attended a Royal Easter service, while Harry has not been seen at the traditional festivities since 2019. 

While little is known about how the Sussexes plan to spend their Easter, previous footage captured during their Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, showed the prince setting up an easter egg hunt for Archie.

The footage suggests that it could be a strong tradition for the family’s Easter celebrations in California. 

It comes as friends of the prince have claimed that he wants the King to invite his family to stay in Norfolk this summer so he can see his grandchildren.

They say the Duke of Sussex wants to repair the family rift by spending time with his father on his private Sandringham estate this July.

But sources close to the monarch told the Daily Mail that ‘low trust and bitter experience’ over a string of leaks and media briefings from ‘Team Sussex’ in recent years were a significant obstacle to making any progress in restoring family harmony.