“There was therefore a feeling that keeping a lower profile was the most appropriate thing to do on this particular occasion. It allowed the attention to remain where Beatrice and Eugenie believed it belonged – on their grandmother and the remarkable 70 years she spent on the throne.
“It doesn’t mean they won’t participate in royal occasions in the future, nor should anyone read it as evidence of some wider family rift. They remain the late Queen’s granddaughters, they remain part of the family and their affection for her hasn’t changed. This was simply a very sensitive moment when they felt staying away publicly was preferable to becoming an unintended distraction.”
Charles and Camilla attended events at Buckingham Palace and the British Museum in April to commemorate Elizabeth’s life and 70-year reign.
She died at Balmoral Castle in September 2022, aged 96.
William and Catherine returned from their Easter break for an afternoon Palace reception, while Princess Anne, 75, officially opened the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in Regent’s Park in memory of her mother.
Prince Edward, 62, and Sophie, 61, also attended events at the British Museum, alongside Lady Sarah Chatto, 61, daughter of the late Princess Margaret.
Andrew, Elizabeth’s second son, was absent after withdrawing from public life over his association with convicted predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Ferguson, who maintained a close relationship with Elizabeth and was entrusted with the monarch’s corgis following her death, was also missing.