King Charles evokes emotional memories of past with his latest move

The adjustment in King Charles' seating during the Easter service brings back memories of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

His Majesty is currently undergoing cancer treatment and this is his first public event since his diagnosis.

A royal commentator has highlighted that King Charles sitting away from his family during the Easter service is reminiscent of when the late Queen distanced herself from the family at her husband Prince Philip's funeral due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Speaking to GB News Rafe Heydel-Makoo said: "So this is being styled unofficially as Easter Light.

"So it is very much the same structure and skeleton of traditional Easter services just with a reduced number of royals and some slight tweaks to take into account the fact that His Majesty is undergoing treatment and does need to be separated a bit from the congregation because of infection risks and so forth.

"The King is sitting slightly separate with the Queen. And that does remind us of the [late] Queen in that very same building for the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which was almost three years ago, on April 17."

It is understood that he was seated slightly away from others as part of arrangements considered an "acceptable" environment for the King at this stage.

The King attended the Easter Matins service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor this afternoon but is not expected to be present for a post-service reception or host lunch, according to The Telegraph.

The Duke and Duchess of York joined King Charles and the Queen for the Easter service along with Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

The Duke of York no longer carries out royal duties as he is not a working royal, however as the King's brother he is allowed to attend private family events.

Ahead of his public appearance, the King sent an Easter message about "care and friendship" on Thursday. The pre-recorded audio message will be the King’s first public words since the Princess of Wales revealed her cancer diagnosis last week.

The message was broadcast in his absence at the Royal Maundy service in Worcester Cathedral.

Princess Kate and Prince William did not attend the Easter service after Kate revealed last Friday that she is also undergoing treatment for a form of cancer.