Featured Image Credit: Ben Montgomery/Getty Images
Topics: Royal Family, Kate Middleton, UK News
Jen Thomas
Topics: Royal Family, Kate Middleton, UK News
Royal fans were delighted to see Kate Middleton warmly welcoming a rarely-seen member of the family at the Easter service last Sunday.
As the family gathered as Windsor Castle for the traditional Sunday matins service, onlookers were thrilled to note the presence of a rarely seen member of the royals.
The Princess of Wales was praised for the interaction as she chatted with 18-year-old James, Earl of Wessex, who tends to avoid the limelight.
He is the first cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry, and is the son of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, who are also known as Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex.
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His sister, Lady Louise Windsor, 22, was missing from the event as she is believed to be busy finishing her studies at St Andrews.
His mother Sophie was also missing due to being unwell, reports later confirmed.
Given that half of his immediate family was missing, fans loved the Princess Of Wales immediately stepped in to make him feel welcome and put at ease.
"A lovely interaction between the Princess of Wales and James, Earl of Wessex," wrote one.
"The Princess of Wales will be a good guide for the young royals. She’s so down to earth, I think they will feel at ease in her presence," said another.
Elsewhere, onlookers thought it was 'nice to see Catherine making him feel at ease,' as another praised "Love how close Wales and Edinburgh families are."
Photos of the families arriving for the service show James keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ground, with his head lowered, compared to the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children who turned to face the cameras and seemed at ease with the attention.
James was last seen at the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, and he is currently in his final year of A-Levels at Radley College.
He is 16th in line to the throne, ahead of his sister as they were both born before the Succession to the Crown Act was introduced in 2013.
This change made it so succession to the Crown no longer depends on gender.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh chose to raise both Louise and James without HRH titles, allowing them to choose to adopt them later if they wished.
Sophie Wessex told the BBC: "Certainly, when they were very young, we tried to keep them out of it. Only because for their sakes, to grow up as normally as possible we felt was quite important."
She added: "They're going to have to go out and get a job and earn a living later on in life and if they've had a normal a start in life they possibly can get, then hopefully that will stand them in good stead."
Elsewhere, fans were discussing how tall Prince George is now, and debating over who Princess Charlotte looks the most like.