Kate Middleton shared a sweet moment with a young member of her family, James, Earl of Wessex, as the royals attended an Easter service over the weekend.
The Princess of Wales, 44, was seen smiling and chatting with James, 18, as the family waited to enter the service, which was held at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 5. In a video of the moment shared by Hello! magazine, Kate seemed to be having a friendly conversation with Prince William’s youngest cousin.
Easter marked a rare royal outing for James, the son of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. While his parents are working royals, James lives life mostly outside of the spotlight and usually only joins the royal family for major occasions like holiday celebrations.
Prince Edward, 62, and James attended the Easter church service alongside a large group of other family members, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and more.
However, James’ mother was not in attendance at the Easter festivities. According to the Daily Express, Sophie, 61, was unable to make it because she was “under the weather,” though she had planned to attend before dropping out at the last minute.
James’ sister, Lady Louise, also did not attend, with a source telling the Daily Express that the 22-year-old royal was away at college at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where classes are still in session.
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While Edward and Sophie both act as full-time working royals, their two children are not expected to take on working royal roles.
Louise and James are the youngest grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth, and their parents left them the option to choose whether or not they’d like to use royal titles when they came of age. Lady Louise turned 18 in November 2021 but has not publicly adopted a royal title or the Her Royal Highness styling, and James has done the same since he turned 18 last December.
Prince Edward’s son instead holds the title of the Earl of Wessex. James inherited that title when King Charles announced that he had conferred Prince Edward as the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2023.
English