While many families are gearing up to prepare roast lunches and devour chocolate eggs, Easter Sunday may look a little different for the royal family this year.
In light of King Charles' recent cancer diagnosis, and the Princess of Wales receiving preventive chemotherapy for cancer, annual celebrations are set to be far more low-key than in previous years.
While the Wales family will not attend the Easter Matins Service at St George's Chapel, they may well choose to mark the occasion in private, spending time with their family behind the closed doors of Windsor Castle.
© GettyFormer royal chef, Darren McGrady, gave a rare insight into the indulgent celebrations that occur on Easter Sunday, divulging everything on the menu at the royal residence…
In keeping with tradition, the royals are served a roast lamb lunch on Easter Sunday. In Christian and Protestant belief, serving lamb over Easter has long been a symbol of the 'sacrificial lamb' mentioned in the Old Testament, but is also eaten in remembrance of Jesus as the 'Lamb of God' who sacrificed himself on the cross.
© Unsplash"We'd go straight into the main course – a traditional roast lamb with seasonal vegetables," Darren told OK!, adding that the late Queen preferred to have her meat well done, so would always get first choice of slices.
"They’d also have a compound salad served in a kidney dish attached to the plate – just some lettuce and cucumber with a little mint or some grated carrot and coriander," added the royal chef. Why it's served in a kidney dish, we're not sure.
After a hearty roast lamb lunch served with all the trimmings, the royals make room for a second course of cheese and fruit, in particular, Windsor Cheese made at the Windsor Dairy.
"The most incredible sweet white Windsor peaches grew on the estate too in my day. We’d have to lock them away in the kitchens because everyone wanted to taste them. The Queen always looked forward to those, but she’d have to wait until they were in season," Darren added.
As far as Easter eggs are concerned, the late Queen was known as a "total chocoholic" according to her royal chefs, so the sweet treats were no doubt on the menu for the monarch and her grandchildren over the Easter holiday.
In previous years, Prince William and Princess Kate have taken great joy in setting up Easter egg hunts for their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - so there's certainly no shortage of chocolate indulgence in the royal's Easter itinerary.
© GettyFamously, King Charles does not eat lunch, though we're sure he'd make an exception for such a tempting menu of Easter delights.
The royal's abnormal eating pattern has even been acknowledged by Clarence House in a list of 70 facts released for the King's (formerly Prince Charles) 70th birthday. Without explanation, number 20 on the list is: "The Prince does not eat lunch."
