April 5^th marked the Easter observance for millions of Christians worldwide. But for UK Christians, it went mostly unacknowledged by King Charles III, who skipped the nation’s Easter message this year. Buckingham Palace confirmed the King would be making no video message this year a few days before the holiday. While an Easter message is not considered an annual tradition like the Christmas message delivered by the Royal family, many UK Christians were perturbed by the King’s decision to skip a video announcement for Easter given he had done so for both Eid and Ramadan, traditional Islamic holidays. The slight is even more pronounced given that the King is the head of the Church of England and the “defender of the faith.” “We expect a message from the Monarch. It’s not clear why he’s decided to not offer a message up, which is why the British people are angry… but more so when he made video contributions filmed inside Royal palaces for Eid and Ramadan,” said royal commentator Neil Sean. King Charles III did conduct an Easter message last year.

The move did nothing to assuage the online conspiracy that King Charles III is a “secret Muslim.” It’s a rumor with roots dating back from 1996, when Nazim Al-Haqqani, a Grand Mufti of Cyprus, claimed that then-Prince Charles had converted to Islam during a visit to Turkey. The claim was denied but through the years King Charles has expressed his admiration for Islam, including learning Arabic so he could better understand the Quran. Former New York mayor and Trump ally Rudy Guilliani reiterated the claim while appearing on Piers Morgan’s YouTube show. “I have people from England telling me you’re gonna be a Muslim country in 10 years,” he said, adding that “the Roman Catholic church is bigger now in England than the Anglican church. And Charles III might be the Muslim monarch of England.” “ROYAL CLOWN EXPOSED: King Charles skips annual Easter message to Christians entirely… but bends the knee with a full Islamic video and prayers?” wrote one critic on X. “‘Defender of the Faith’…this spineless Traitor is defending ISLAM while ditching the Church of England.”

In an apparent response to the criticism, the Royal family did post an Easter message on social media. “Happy Easter. He is risen!” the statement said with an image of the cross. It also included the caption “Wishing a joyous Easter Sunday to Christians celebrating in the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world today.”