The unique way the Cambridge family chose to wish fans a happy Easter

Prince William and Kate Middleton

As with most families, it was far from a typical Easter for the royals.

While the Queen would usually be joined by her extended family for Easter services at St George's Chapel, this year marked the second year in a row that the royals did not make a public appearance to mark Easter Sunday.

Instead, the public were given an update on what the royals were up to this Easter via social media, with the Palace releasing Easter well-wishes on Instagram.

Clarence House released new portraits of the Queen and Prince Charles walking together in the gardens of Frogmore House to mark the occasion, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opted for the more unconventional approach when it came to this year's Easter message.

A photo posted by on

'Wishing you all a safe and happy Easter,' the Cambridges captioned their Easter post – a lighthearted clip that showed an Easter egg being smashed with a rolling pin in reverse.

In lieu of their traditional family gathering, it's thought that William and Kate, alongside their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and two-year-old Prince Louis, are spending the bank holiday weekend at Kensington Palace, where they've been since schools reopened last month.

The fun clip was less traditional than the couple's previous Easter messages, and signals brighter days ahead as vaccines are rolled out across the UK, and restrictions begin to ease.

Last year, the Cambridge family shared a photo of Kensington Palace surrounded by daffodils to mark the day, as they urged the public to stay at home to protect the NHS following the first national lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cambridges spent the majority of our third national lockdown at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, where they have been homeschooling their three children, and continuing their royal engagements via Zoom.

The duchess also recently announced that she will be entering the world of book publishing, as she launches a coffee table book of last year's Hold Still exhibition. A moving document of UK lives during the pandemic, the book is expected to hit shelves on 7th May.

Kate McCusker

Kate McCusker is a freelance writer at Marie Claire UK, having joined the team in 2019. She studied fashion journalism at Central Saint Martins, and her byline has also appeared in Dezeen, British Vogue, The Times and woman&home. In no particular order, her big loves are: design, good fiction, bad reality shows and the risible interiors of celebrity houses.