Prince Louis’s Two-Word Greeting to King Charles Prompts “Unusual” Gesture That Shows the Monarch’s “Softer Side”

The Gist

• Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis attended the royal family’s annual Easter service on April 5 at St. George’s Chapel.

• This marked the first time that the family of five had attended the service since 2023, before the Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnosis.

• Louis and his grandfather King Charles shared a tender moment together on Easter Sunday, with the King displaying a rare public glimpse of his grandfatherly affection.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, King Charles and Prince Louis had a heartwarming grandfather-grandson interaction as the King walked into St. George’s Chapel on Easter Sunday.

King Charles touching Prince Louis’s cheek on April 5, 2026
Credit: Getty

On April 5, The Mirror reported that after 7-year-old Louis sweetly told his grandfather, “Happy Easter,” the King “appeared deeply moved” and tenderly patted Louis on the cheek “in an uncommon and affectionate public gesture,” the outlet reported.

Body language expert Judi James told the outlet that the gesture marked “a very unusual reward ritual from Charles, showing his softer side as a doting granddad.” In response to the King’s pat on the cheek, Louis grinned at his grandfather.

Prince Louis on April 5, 2026
Credit: Getty

Of Charles, his biographer Robert Hardman previously told People, “He’s a father who loves his son and a doting grandfather. One thing we don’t see, and people weren’t expecting, the King is spending a lot more time at Windsor than anyone expected,” referring to where the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children live.

Sunday was the Wales family of five’s first Easter public appearance alongside the rest of the royal family since 2023, before Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis in 2024. The King was also diagnosed with cancer that same year; while the Princess of Wales announced in January 2025 that she is in remission, the King’s cancer treatment continues.

Princess Charlotte, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Prince William on Easter Sunday 2026
Credit: Getty

In 2024, the Wales family celebrated the holiday privately, and did so again in 2025, spending time last Easter at their beloved country home, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham estate.

Yesterday’s Easter service is only Louis’s second time attending the services on the grounds of Windsor Castle. He attended in 2023 for the first time, alongside his parents and his older siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Louis—who will celebrate his eighth birthday later this month on April 23—looked more grown up than ever, shaking hands with the Dean of Windsor Christopher Cocksworth as the family left the service.

Prince Louis leaving St. George’s Chapel
Credit: Getty

Prince Louis on April 5, 2026
Credit: Getty

George, Charlotte, and Louis are currently on break from school until April 22, so Prince William and Kate likely be away from royal duty so as to maximize time with them. As Kate previously said (per Hello!), “Spending quality time together is such an important aspect of family life and for me, as a mother, it is the simple family moments like playing outside together that I cherish.”

Read the original article on InStyle