Why Kate and William made the shock decision to skip Easter service

Prince William and Princess Kate made the unusual decision to skip this year's royal Easter service at Windsor Castle — an event where their appearance is typically awaited with bated breath.

This past Sunday, royals gathered for the service at St. George's Chapel (where Meghan and Harry, and Eugenie and Jack got married). Among the guests were King Charles and Queen Camilla; Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie and their son James; the disgraced Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Duchess Sarah (AKA Fergie); Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi; Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank; and Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence.

Kate and William already skipped the service last year, which was wholly expected at the time as the Princess of Wales had just announced that she had sadly been diagnosed with cancer.

But in previous years, it has always been such a treat for royal fans to sneak a peek at the Wales couple and sometimes some of their children, dressed in their Sunday best to attend the service — so it was a shame for said royal fans to miss them this year.

At the very least, we have some indications as to why Kate and William decided against being in Windsor this Easter.

The Mirror had already reported last week that Kate and Will would be skipping out on the family celebration: "They are choosing to spend time together as a family before the children go back to school," a source told the publication.

Of course, the royal couple had let the King know in advance that this was their plan, and Charles reportedly agreed to it.

But what did the Waleses get up to over the long weekend, then? Well, according to a report in Hello!, they chose to spend time with Kate's family, the Middletons, instead.

Kate, Will, George, Charlotte and Louis were spotted attending a low-key Easter service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, which is where the royals typically celebrate Christmas.

The church is just a short way away from the Waleses' Norfolk home at Anmer Hall.

Meanwhile, Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton apparently also joined them to celebrate Easter over the weekend.

But while it sounds like the Waleses found a way to celebrate that made sense for their little family, not everyone is too pleased with the move, apparently.

"This is a big deal," a source told Us Weekly. "It’s royal tradition for the family to attend this together. Everyone understood the family not attending last year when Kate was sick but there’s been a lot of raised eyebrows at the palace about William’s decision to skip again this year. It feels like a deliberate move and even a snub."

Uh oh!