Prince William joined Queen Elizabeth in Balmoral over the weekend.
The 35-year-old royal was spotted arriving at Crathie Kirk for a morning church service with his grandmother on Sunday (24.09.17) whilst Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall travelled in a separate vehicle.
However, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William’s wife, was noticeably absent. She is thought to still be at the family’s London residence in Kensington Palace after suffering with hyperemesis gravidarum as she is expecting the couple’s child.
It is believe that Prince William travelled up to Scotland to join the family for the annual Ghillies Ball, which is put on for the royal staff. He will return to London in the next few days whilst the Queen will stay in Balmoral until the beginning of October, before returning to Buckingham Palace.
And it is no surprise that Prince William was supporting his grandmother in Balmoral as it was previously revealed they share a "special closeness".
Robert Lacey, historian and consultant to the hit Netflix series ‘The Crown’, said: "There has always been a special closeness between William and the Queen, and she has taken a particular interest in him. It’s no secret that she and Charles have had a prickly relationship at times.
"When William became a teenager, she would have him at Windsor Castle and would open the state boxes and guide him through the papers. It was William’s constitutional education."
And William had previously described the Queen as a "role model".
He said last year: "[She is] the best role model I could have. [She has] more of a soft influencing, modest kind of guidance. I don’t think she believes too heavily in instruction. My grandmother takes more of a passive role in how she believes her role should be. She’s above politics."
Prince William joins Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral church service
