King Charles led a strong Royal Family presence at Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service, joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. This marked the family’s largest public gathering since Prince Andrew’s arrest. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie stayed away from the event.
Clarifying Beatrice and Eugenie’s Absence
The service, a key date in the royal calendar, drew working royals only. Beatrice and Eugenie have never attended Commonwealth Day in the past. Their father, Prince Andrew, last appeared at the event in 2019, eight months before his BBC Newsnight interview prompted his withdrawal from public duties.
Recent revelations about their parents’ links to Jeffrey Epstein fueled speculation that the sisters skipped the service due to scandal fallout. However, their absence follows longstanding tradition for non-working royals.
The situation differs for family occasions like Easter, where Beatrice and Eugenie have participated in the past, including the annual Sunday church service. Royal expert Jennie Bond recommends they avoid such events for now. She stated: “I’m sure the women care about the damage that has been done to the royal family, and it seems to me that the best way to support their uncle and cousins is to keep their distance for the foreseeable future. It might be helpful if they told the King that they are otherwise engaged for Easter and Royal Ascot week, thus relieving him of the dilemma about whether to invite them. Like it or not, they would draw unwelcome press attention to themselves if they were to join the rest of the royals, so it might be better for all involved if they keep a low profile for now.”
Additional Royal Absences
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh also missed the service, marking their second year away. Prince Edward and Sophie are in Italy supporting Paralympics GB at the Milan and Cortina Winter Paralympics. Last year, Sophie handled engagements in New York for International Women’s Day, while the date coincided with Edward’s 61st birthday.
Key Moments from the Service
Ahead of the event, King Charles shared his annual message with the Commonwealth’s 56 member nations, ahead of their biennial summit in early November in Antigua and Barbuda’s capital.
The 1,800-person congregation included Prime Minister Keir Starmer, senior Cabinet members, High Commissioners, and young representatives. Geri Halliwell-Horner, ambassador for the Royal Commonwealth Society, delivered an address. Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse offered a reflection, and Selina Tusitala Marsh, the first Commonwealth Poet Laureate, presented a poem.
In his address, King Charles emphasized: “In a world that can feel increasingly fragmented, this voluntary union of free association remains rare and precious – a forum for open and honest discussion and debate to help improve the lives of the nearly three billion people who call our member states home.”
He added: “Our Commonwealth of Nations holds untapped potential for prosperous trade between trusting partners. With nearly two-thirds of our population under the age of 30, we are a family defined by youth and possibility. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that they inherit not only hope and ambition, but also a world in which they can flourish. That inheritance depends upon the health of our planet and on the restoration of the natural world on which we depend. Across so many parts of our Commonwealth, climate change is not an abstract or distant threat, but a lived reality. The stewardship of nature, the protection of oceans and forests, and the pursuit of prosperity secured in harmony with the natural world are duties we owe not only to one another, but to generations yet unborn.”
