Why Prince William and Kate Skipped This Year's Royal Easter Service
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
This year, Easter celebrations looked different for Prince William and Princess Kate. Choosing to forgo the Royal Family's annual church service, the couple spent the holiday at their country residence, Anmer Hall in Norfolk, alongside their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
While the Prince and Princess of Wales were absent, other family members, including Princess Eugenie and Sarah Ferguson, joined King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace for the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
This isn't the first time the Wales family has opted for a quieter Easter. Last year, they also skipped the traditional service as the Princess was undergoing chemotherapy following her cancer diagnosis. During that period, she stepped back from her public duties to focus on her health. In January, she shared the news that she is now in remission.
Given Kate's ongoing desire for privacy and continued recovery, it's likely why the family chose once again to spend the holiday away from the public eye.
As Prince William maintains a low profile, royal watchers have begun speculating about what the future may hold. Some insiders suggest that major changes have long been in motion behind the scenes.
'The people I've spoken to have said that the succession planning, as they call it, began even before Charles' diagnosis,' royal author Tom Quinn told Harper's Bazaar. 'I mean, he's the oldest Prince of Wales to become king in history, so succession planning had begun before Charles came to the throne simply because of the age issue.'
Quinn noted, 'Charles knows that he isn't going to be king for that long.'
While the future remains uncertain, for now, Prince William seems to be prioritizing time with his family.
You Might Also Like
4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora
The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kate Middleton & Prince William's Relationship Is Experiencing 'Major Shifts' Behind the Scenes, Says Insider
Prince William and Kate Middleton are moving towards a new era in their relationship, according to a royal insider. After completing cancer treatment in September 2024 and revealing she's officially in remission in January, Kate has gladly returned to public duties—including with recent appearances at Trooping the Colour and Garter Day. With her cancer behind them, the couple is reportedly thinking ahead to their upcoming roles as King and Queen. More from SheKnows Why Kate Middleton Is No Longer Wearing Her Engagement Ring That Belonged to Princess Diana 'There are some major shifts coming behind the scenes,' a friend told People about the couple's new era. William and Kate are reportedly hyper-focused on building a trusted team of top advisers as they prepare for the monarchy. 'They are really finessing what works and what doesn't,' the friend added. While Kate continues to heal, she and William have been focused on assessing how to prioritize their young family while preparing to take the throne. 'They were able to step back and reassess their priorities in all aspects of their lives,' the couple's friend claimed. Kate's time away from public duties reportedly also made it clear to the couple how essential she is to the royal family. Before revealing her diagnosis, Kate's absence generated intense scrutiny and speculation about the couple's relationship, including allegations that William had been unfaithful. Kate has kept her appearances to a minimum since recovering, which has only made her outings more impactful. 'She was already the only working royal left with any special pulling power. Now her scarcity means that it has risen,' King Charles III biographer Catherine Mayer said. 'She is the one who generates excitement. For her, less is actually more.' This may signal William and Kate's efforts to transition the British Royal Family back to a quieter, less forward-facing role, similar to the air of mystery William's late-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, cultivated around herself. In the past year, William has shown several signs that he is trying to get some distance from his father's vision of the monarchy, including by hiring a separate legal team earlier this year. He also opened up about his planned approach in a November 2024 interview with the BBC. 'I can only describe what I'm trying to do, and that's I'm trying to do it differently and I'm trying to do it for my generation,' he said. 'And to give you more of an understanding around it,' he added. 'I'm doing it with maybe a smaller 'R' in the royal, if you like, that's maybe a better way of saying it.' Before you go, click to see more photos of Prince William & Kate Middleton through the years. Best of SheKnows All of Chris Martin's Confirmed & Rumored Relationships Over the Years 13 Times Meghan Markle Reminded Us So Much of Princess Diana 24 Times Kate Middleton Perfectly Recreated Princess Diana's Iconic Fashion
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The $200,000 height-enhancing surgery from 'Materialists' is real — and more common than you might think
In Celine Song's new romantic drama, Materialists, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is perpetually on the hunt for a tall man. Not for herself, however — Lucy is a matchmaker, and her clients have height requirements they refuse to budge on. It's why, early in the film, Lucy says she understands why some men choose to go through with a $200,000 surgery that gives them up to 6 more inches of height: It adds to their value on the dating scene. Without spoiling too much, this surgery comes up for a second time in the film — a twist that reframes what it means to be a catch in today's dating market. But this height surgery isn't just a plot point. It's a real way some people are coping with body image issues around their stature. Dr. Dror Paley, founder of the Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute's Stature Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., told Yahoo that he's done more than 25,000 limb lengthening surgeries over the course of his 38-year career. Most of these are done in order to correct imbalances in the body — if one leg is shorter than the other, for example. But on average, he said, he performs about 100 surgeries per year on patients who are just hoping to inch up in height. Paley explained that limb lengthening involves gradually pulling apart a broken bone (the tibia or the femur) so that new bone grows in the gap. Traditionally, this was done using external metal frames, but now, it's typical to use implantable devices with motors or magnets that go inside the bone and are controlled remotely and adjusted slowly over weeks. With each adjustment, the devices extend the bone — no more than 1 millimeter per day — and the body naturally generates new bone and soft tissue to fill in the space. Recovery is about five months long, Paley said, and physical therapy is required in order to get back functionality. Depending on the device used, some people may need a walker or crutches to move around initially. As an orthopedic surgeon, Paley corrects 'pain and disability,' not aesthetics, which is why he was initially concerned about being judged by others in his industry for the procedure. 'It's very odd for us to treat patients for cosmetic reasons,' Paley said. 'It took a long time to figure out what the plastic surgeons knew all along: that they were treating body image issues.' The price tag on such a procedure can vary but starts at around $80,000 to lengthen just the tibia, which can give a patient around 3 more inches of height, Paley said. But if a patient wants more height by lengthening the femur as well, that effectively doubles the cost of the surgery. With physical therapy and other recovery costs, Paley said that the $200,000 price quoted in Materialists is more or less accurate. But for many patients, that cost is more than worth it. Paley recalled one patient, a young man fresh out of law school who could barely look him in the eye during their initial appointment. Paley performed the limb lengthening surgery on him, adding 3 inches to his tibia. A decade later, Paley said the patient came back to thank him with a firm handshake. He told the doctor that due to the surgery, he found the confidence to pursue a career in TV writing — something that he said he never would have done had he not had the surgery. 'We're looking to change how patients feel about themselves,' Paley said of the surgery. 'It changes their life.' Alyson Curtis, a New York City-based mental health counselor specializing in body image issues, told Yahoo that she believes many straight men are 'suffering in silence' with body image issues, and that height tends to be a major insecurity for men on the shorter side. 'As a therapist, I fully validate that 'pretty privilege' is real, like no matter who you are,' she said. 'Our clients are swiping on the dating apps, and height is one of those metrics where you might not even be considered if you don't meet a certain requirement. And I think that the movie really accurately portrayed that.' Ultimately, Curtis explained, the society we live in is 'obviously patriarchal' and 'made by men.' 'Their definition of masculinity is to be big and powerful still, and height represents that,' she said, noting that at the same time, many men expect and desire women to be 'very small,' leading to women experiencing body image issues around thinness. (In Materialists, a client tells Lucy that he doesn't want any 'fatties,' while another insists on dating a woman with a BMI no greater than 20.) 'We do live in a world that prefers people in a certain body type, or a taller height, or whatever,' she said. While Curtis said she always validates her clients for feeling bad about the ways in which society judges us, she noted that these standards don't have to define who we are. 'It can be very tormenting to sort of always feel inferior. But is it enough to hate yourself for the rest of your life? Is it enough to undergo a really intense surgery that not everyone has the means to do anyway?' Instead, Curtis said, her work with patients comes from a place of finding acceptance in the things you can't or don't want to change. 'There are people in this world who want to change things about you, who are going to judge you — whether it's a personality attribute or even other features like the color of our skin,' she shared. 'There's so many things about us that people are going to reject that we just can't please everyone.'
Newsweek
6 hours ago
- Newsweek
Tears as Couple Find Abandoned and Injured Rabbit—Know What To Do
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. An abandoned bunny's rescue journey has captured the hearts of thousands online. Holly Murphy (@sleepyforestdweller) from Mooresville, North Carolina, shared how she and her boyfriend found the bunny—now named Honeybun—in woodland on the side of the road in a state park. "We are thinking he was an Easter gift that someone decided to dump after realizing he was too much responsibility. Honeybun was terrified and shaking, but immediately so sweet and trusting of us. He basically jumped into my boyfriend's arms! He was horribly matted and covered in urine. One of the vets we saw had to shave a golf ball-sized matted fur clump off of him and it was actually growing mold. This means he must have been neglected for his entire life," Murphy told Newsweek. In a video shared to TikTok, Honeybun trembles in the car before they took him home and arranged veterinary care. The footage garnered 184,300 likes and 1.4 million views on TikTok. A split image showing the abandoned bunny in the car and then in the safety of his crate. A split image showing the abandoned bunny in the car and then in the safety of his crate. @sleepyforestdweller//@sleepyforestdweller Murphy and her boyfriend believe Honeybun is between four and five months old and suspect he suffered abuse at the hands of previous owners, who may have knocked out his teeth. "It has been a very long and rough week, we've now taken him to 3 different vets, including an emergency room stay after he entered GI Stasis on Friday this past weekend," she said. Gastrointestinal stasis (GI stasis) is a potentially life-threatening condition in rabbits where the digestive system slows down or stops entirely. It can be caused by stress, pain, dehydration, or poor diet, and may lead to a buildup of gas and harmful bacteria in the gut. Murphy said the emergency vet was able to stabilize Honeybun and provide fluids, along with extensive tests including bloodwork and X-rays. He is now under the care of an exotic animal specialist for his mouth injury and may require costly dental work or even tooth extraction depending on the condition of his nerve. Despite it all, Murphy shared that Honeybun is now eating and drinking on his own and is "in better spirits." She described him as "the sweetest baby" who "loves lettuce, giving kisses, and sitting in my lap!" The couple are fundraising for the bunny's veterinary care through a GoFundMe page. The response on TikTok has been overwhelmingly positive, with users expressing gratitude and empathy. "Thank you for taking this sweet bunny in and showing kindness and compassion to an animal in need," wrote PETA. "The baby was so scared," commented Hannah. "I also have a dumped bunny. Thank you for taking them in and saving them," added Taffy. One user shared their own experience: "Have a similar story (un)fortunately. neighbors told me they had seen a baby bunny by the river but i kept thinking nah, surely had to be a rabbit.. and oh boy was i wrong. Luckily, I finally managed to catch him on day 3 right before we got first freezing temperatures. he's turning 4 this year." Another echoed the sentiment: "I don't understand how people can think it's ok to just leave domestic animals out in the wild like that. thank you for rescuing and caring for this sweet baby," said Hannah. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
