How the Royal Family Celebrated Its First Mother’s Day Without Queen Elizabeth

The United Kingdom celebrated Mother’s Day this past Sunday. It marked the nation’s first Mother’s Day since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. How did the royal family celebrate the occasion without the matriarch? As the BBC noted, the royal family celebrated the holiday by sharing some photos and kind messages with their social media followers. 

The official Twitter account for the royal family shared photos of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla with their mothers. The first photo depicts the late Queen posing for a photo with her eldest son, then a toddler prince. In the other snap, a young Camilla poses with her mother, Rosalind Shand. According to the BBC, Shand died in 1994 at the age of 74 from the bone disease osteoporosis. Alongside the images, they wrote that they’re thinking of those who can’t be with their mothers on the holiday. 

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The Prince and Princess of Wales also shared a sweet snap to celebrate Mother’s Day. Their official account shared a photo of Kate Middleton posing with her three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis — in a tree. They captioned the adorable nature photo by writing, “Happy Mother’s Day from our family to yours.”

Mother’s Day looked majorly different for the royal family this year considering that it was their first without Queen Elizabeth. The monarch passed away in September at the age of 96. At the time of her death, she was the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom. Upon her death, the British throne passed to her eldest son, Charles. When he became the next king, his eldest son, William, became the next Prince of Wales and the direct heir to the throne. However, William’s title wasn’t made official until this past February. 

On Feb. 13, The Gazette, the United Kingdom’s official public record, published a Letters Patent from Charles regarding William and Kate’s new titles. Charles’ Letters Patent established all of the pair’s new titles and read, “In accordance with the direction of HIS MAJESTY THE KING Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the Realm, dated the 13th February 2023 for creating His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cornwall Rothesay and Cambridge, Earl of Carrick and Strathearn, Baron of Renfrew, Baron Carrickfergus, K.G., K.T., Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, PRINCE OF WALES and EARL OF CHESTER.”