kate william late easter© Photo: Getty Images

How Prince William and Kate broke royal protocol over Easter 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ran late after being caught in traffic

TV & Film Editor
April 2, 2018

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge broke royal protocol over Easter, all thanks to roadworks! The royal couple were late to arrive at the Easter church service at St George's chapel in Windsor on Sunday, and broke protocol by arriving after the Queen. According to HELLO!'s royal correspondent, Emily Nash, the royal family typically arrive at events in order of rank, with the most senior arriving last. This means that her Majesty would usually be the last to arrive at an event. However, unfortunately the couple were stuck in traffic thanks to roadworks on the M4. The pair had been spending Easter weekend with Kate's parents at their home in Bucklebury with their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

© Photo: Getty Images

Kate and William arrived late to the service

Although some royal fans took to Twitter to criticise the Duke and Duchess for keeping the Queen waiting, one person tweeted: "People hating on Will and Kate for arriving to Easter service after HM, the Queen. Have any of you never been delayed by a traffic jam? Not a whole lot you can do about it. Also, I guarantee HM was notified and decided to proceed with arrival anyway," and later added: "Since this has literally never happened to them before, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was unavoidable." The pair ended up arriving slightly after the 10:45am scheduled start time.

GALLERY: All the best photos from the royal's Easter church service

The Queen, Prince William and Kate were also joined by Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, Princess Anne and Zara Tindall, while Prince Philip, who is thought to have been experiencing troubles with his hip, was absent, as was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with Kensington Palace describing their weekend plans as "private". The Queen looked to be in great spirits as she left the church in a bold pink jacket and skirt, and smiled as she accepted posies from two six-year-old girls following the service.

READ: Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn't celebrate Easter with the Queen

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