King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla lead members of the royal family as they attend the Easter service at Windsor Castle. Getty
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla lead members of the royal family as they attend the Easter service at Windsor Castle. Getty
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla lead members of the royal family as they attend the Easter service at Windsor Castle. Getty
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla lead members of the royal family as they attend the Easter service at Windsor Castle. Getty

Royals attend first Easter church service of King Charles III's reign


Gillian Duncan
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King Charles III and other members of the royal family have attended their first Easter Sunday church service of his reign.

The king and Queen Consort Camilla wore matching royal blue outfits for the service at St George's Chapel, the late queen's final resting place at Windsor Castle.

King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla attend the Easter service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Reuters
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla attend the Easter service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Reuters

They were joined by Prince Andrew Duke of York and Princess Anne, plus Prince William and his wife Kate and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Princess of Wales wore a bright blue dress and matching pillbox hat.

The Prince of Wales and Prince George walked side by side wearing matching navy suits, while Princess Charlotte held her father's hand.

Prince Louis, attending the service for the first time, wore a suit jacket and light blue shorts.

The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis attending the Easter service at St George's Chapel. Reuters
The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis attending the Easter service at St George's Chapel. Reuters

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie arrived with their son James, Viscount Severn.

Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi also attended the service, a staple in the royal calendar, as did her sister Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, and Zara and Mike Tindall and their two daughters, Mia and Lena.

It was likely to have been a moving moment for the royal family, with the Easter Sunday service the first to take place since the queen's death in September.

Zara and Mike Tindall walk with their children Mia and Lena Tindall, ahead of Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. AFP
Zara and Mike Tindall walk with their children Mia and Lena Tindall, ahead of Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. AFP

The late monarch is buried in the church's tiny King George VI Memorial Chapel, alongside Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, and her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, with their four names inscribed on a new black stone slab set in the floor.

King Charles has succeeded his mother to become the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

He will be crowned alongside the queen consort in a religious service in Westminster Abbey on May 6.

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Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
 

Updated: April 09, 2023, 12:06 PM