What Do The Royal Family Eat On Easter Sunday?

For most families, Easter weekend is a time to relax, spend time together and feast on chocolate – and it’s no different for the royals. Traditionally, the royal family celebrate Easter at Windsor Castle with a lamb roast, but who will be attending this year? And what’s on the menu?

How Do The Royal Family Spend Easter?

There are certain Easter rituals the royal family follow each year. These begin on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter Sunday), when the monarch typically gives out ‘Maundy Money’ to people who have done positive things for their churches and communities. The historic tradition, which has taken place every year since 600 AD, sees recipients granted with small leather pouches. ‘The first contains a small amount of ordinary coinage which symbolises the Sovereign’s gift for food and clothing,’ explains the royal family’s website. 

This is based on the monarch’s age, so in 2023 the King gave the accolade out to 74 men and 74 women. Last year, he was unable to attend due to his cancer treatment, so Queen Camilla distributed the Maundy Money on his behalf. In 2025, King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Durham together for the event.

On Easter Sunday, the family typically gather at Windsor Castle and attend church at St George’s Chapel. Most key members of the family attend, including the King and Queen, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips. However, the Wales family did not attend last year: just a few weeks prior, Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative treatment for cancer. She is now gradually returning to public duties after revealing she is in remission from the disease, however it has not been confirmed as to whether the Wales family will attend the Easter celebrations on 20 April 2025.

Windsor Castle (Image: Pexels)

What Do The Royal Family Eat For Easter Lunch?

After church, the royal family return to Windsor Castle for a lunch of roast lamb, in keeping with Christian tradition. Former royal chef Darren McGrady has previously given insight into the menu. ‘We’d go straight into the main course – a traditional roast lamb with seasonal vegetables,’ he revealed. ‘They’d also have a compound salad served in a kidney dish attached to the plate – just some lettuce and cucumber with a little mint or some grated carrot and coriander.’ 

Afterwards, there is usually a cheese and fruit course, which will include Windsor Cheese made at the nearby Windsor Dairy. ‘The most incredible sweet white Windsor peaches grew on the estate too in my day,’ McGrady said. ‘We’d have to lock them away in the kitchens because everyone wanted to taste them. The Queen always looked forward to those, but she’d have to wait until they were in season.’

Which Easter Eggs Do The Royal Family Have?

It’s not Easter without eggs, but which chocolate gets the royal stamp of approval? Former royal butler Paul Burrell once said Charbonnel et Walker – which was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1970 – is their chocolatier of choice. Prestat Chocolates also holds a Royal Warrant, so perhaps plays a part in the royal Easter festivities too. Burrell also revealed that the royal family tend to take part in Lent, saying: ‘They would give up chocolate or cheese and make an effort to go without something to acknowledge the fact that it was Lent. Easter would always be a lavish tea and the things they have given up would appear again in celebration.’

The Palace has never confirmed whether a big Easter egg hunt is organised for the family, although in a 2016 interview Kate revealed the late Queen would always leave ‘a little gift or something in their room when we go and stay’ for her great-grandchildren.