King Charles and Camilla beam as they enjoy first Maundy Service of their reign
King Charles will distribute special Maundy money to local pensioners in the traditional religious service.
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are undertaking their first Maundy Thursday service of their reign. The royal couple ignored a noisy group of booing anti-monarchist protestors as they stepped out for the religious service and carried on with the trip as normal. Maundy Thursday, the Christian holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter, is marked each year by the Royal Family, with the monarch traditionally distributing gifts to members of the congregation.
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Camilla is wearing a beautiful navy dress by Fiona Clare with white detailing, accessorised with a wide-brimmed navy suede hat by Philip Treacy with a white sash wrapped around it.
This year's service is being held at York Minster, and the couple were greeted by a small group of anti-monarchy protestors upon their arrival. The group, representing Republic, held bright yellow placards reading 'not my King' and noisily chanted the same slogan.
A video shared by Republic shows the couple confronted by a number of questions, including: "Why are you wasting our money on your parade Charles."
But the royal couple were undeterred by the protestors, who have become a regular feature on their visits, and their chants were drowned out by the thousands of well-wishers who were there to greet the King and Queen's arrival.
Charles and Camilla made their way to the Great West Doors where they were met by the Dean of York, The Very Reverend Dominic Barrington and The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York.
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The religious leaders accompanied the King and Queen into the Cathedral where they were presented with the traditional Nosegay, a small flower bouquet before processing up the Nave for the Service.
Maundy Thursday commemorates the Maundy and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.
During the Royal Maundy service, the monarch presents gifts equivalent to the number of years they have lived.
As the King is 74, he will distribute 74 pence worth of Maundy Money to 74 men and 74 women to thank them for their outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities.
Charles will give each of the lucky recipients two purses: one red and one white.
The white purse contains a set of specially minted silver Maundy coins worth 74 pence - the equivalent in value to the age of the monarch.
While the red purse will contain two commemorative coins, symbolising the Sovereign's historic gift of food and clothing.
This year, one will celebrate the King's forthcoming 75th birthday and the other will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the
Windrush Generation.
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Officials said recipients are selected from Church of England dioceses across the country, and Anglican and Ecumenical partners across the UK.
Joan Plant, 76, who travelled from the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, said she couldn’t believe that "little old me" had been selected to attend Thursday’s service.
A second pensioner, 80-year-old Mildred Lynch, 80, from Liverpool, said the day was “wonderful, very moving”. She was selected for her work at St Bridget and St Thomas Church in Wavertree and the fact she and her husband had fostered more than 150 children over 35 years.
Rev Bob Sidgwick, 78, is a deacon in the Thirsk area of North Yorkshire who has an extensive ministry with the biker community and rides a 1500cc motorcycle around his patch was overwhelmed to be among the first to receive Maundy money from the King.
Today's service is particularly poignant, as it is the first Maundy Service since Queen Elizabeth II passed away and Charles recently unveiled a statue in her honour at York Minster - the location of this year's service.
Two months after the Queen's death, Charles paid a moving tribute to his mother by unveiling the statue in tribute to her 70 years of "extraordinary service and devotion".
When unveiling the statue, the King said the sculpture, which is carved from Lepine limestone from France and stands more than 6ft tall, will now "watch over" the residents of York, as the Queen had done throughout her life.
Last year, Charles and Camilla stepped in on behalf of the late Queen, as she was unable to attend the Maundy Service at Windsor due to episodic mobility issues.
The religious service takes place at a new location each year to ensure the money was distributed across the UK.
During her historic reign, Queen Elizabeth II presented Maundy money at every Anglican cathedral in England.
