Queen Elizabeth Will Miss Easter Sunday Church Service at Windsor Castle

On Thursday, Prince Charles and Camilla filled in for the monarch at the Royal Maundy Service, which takes place annually ahead of Easter

Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Ben Stansall - WPA Pool /Getty

Queen Elizabeth will not be publicly celebrating Easter on Sunday.

The monarch, who will celebrate her 96th birthday this month, is not expected to join the congregation at the service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on what is the most important days in the Christian faith, PEOPLE has confirmed.

There will be other members of the royal family celebrating at the service on Sunday morning, and they are likely to drop in to see the monarch, who is staying in her apartments at the castle.

The Queen, who is a devout Christian and the head of the Church of England, attends services regularly and, if she can't go in person, has been able to worship online, a source has told PEOPLE.

Queen Elizabeth. Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images

On Thursday, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall stood in for the Queen at the annual Royal Maundy Service, a pre-Easter tradition where a member of the royal family distributes specially-minted coins known as Maundy money to recognize people over 70 years old for their service to their communities.

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Queen Elizabeth was last seen in public at the special thanksgiving service for her late husband Prince Philip on March 29, but she has carried on with virtual audiences with diplomats and virtually attended the official opening of the Royal London Hospital's Queen Elizabeth Unit, talking with health workers and former patients. She used the occasion to tell a former COVID patient of her own battle with COVID-19, relating how it had left her debilitated. "It does leave one feeling very tired and exhausted, doesn't it? This horrible pandemic," she said.

Queen Elizabeth. Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Images

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The Queen has a busy spring ahead. She is sure to be watching some of the Windsor Horse Show, coming up in May, and on the horizon, she has several events that will mark her Platinum Jubilee in early June. Royal sources say she hopes to get to some of the events, but she is unlikely to attend all of them over the long weekend of festivities.