Prince Harry attends Easter Sunday service without heavily-pregnant Meghan Markle

The Duke of Sussex attended Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle alone today.

With Meghan Markle expected to give birth to the couple’s first baby in the coming days – late April or early May – she was not in attendance.

The couple recently issued a statement saying that they would be keeping the plans around the arrival of their baby private and would first take time to celebrate privately as a new family before sharing the news with the public.

However, Harry (34) took time away today to accompany his grandmother, The Queen, to the service on what is also her 93rd birthday.

They were also joined by members of her family at St George’s Chapel.

Following an hour-long service, the Queen was presented with two posies – one yellow and one white – by two little boys, before being treated to a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ as she emerged outside.

As the well-wishers completed three cheers, the Queen waved to them as she got into her waiting car.

Royal family members who attended the service included the Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice, the Earl of Wessex, and the Duke and Duchess.

Kate (37) wore a lilac Alexander McQueen coat dress, which she wore previously in 2014 on a three week tour of Australia and New Zealand.

The Duke of Edinburgh was also absent as he has has retired from royal duties.

Earlier today, Harry and Meghan were also among those wishing her well, writing on Instagram: “Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Ma’am, Granny. Wishing you the most wonderful day! Harry & Meghan.”

Anne’s son Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn, and Edward’s wife the Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, were also in attendance at the chapel.

Ahead of the service, as the Queen walked into the 14th-century Gothic chapel, Kate, who was wearing a light blue coat, curtsied to the monarch along with other female members of the family, as the males bowed their heads.

Harry could also be seen chatting away to his cousin Ms Tindall, but appeared not to speak to his brother amid rumours of a possible rift between the pair.

April 21 – the day the Queen was born – is the first of the monarch’s two birthdays. She also has an official one on the second Saturday in June each year, which is commemorated with the Trooping the Colour parade.

Gun salutes are also fired as a mark of respect to the Queen on her special day – but never on a Sunday, so this year they will be delayed by one day.

At Buckingham Palace, the Band of the Irish Guards will also perform a rendition of Happy Birthday in her honour on the forecourt as part of the Changing of the Guard ceremony.

The Queen traditionally spends a month-long residence at Windsor Castle, known as Easter Court, each year.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 2.40am on April 21 1926, the first child of the then Duke and Duchess of York, at 17 Bruton Street, the Mayfair home of her mother’s parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.

She was never expected to be Queen when she was born, but the abdication of her uncle Edward VIII in 1936 put her father George VI on the throne, and changed her destiny.

Elizabeth II, who has been monarch for more than 67 years, is Head of State, the Armed Forces and the Commonwealth, and has been married to the Duke of Edinburgh for more than 71 years.

She became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, passing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria’s record, in September 2015.

With the death of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in 2016, the Queen now holds the record for the world’s longest reigning living monarch.

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