Maundy Thursday

 The Royal Maundy Service in 1952

Maundy Thursday commemorates the day of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The word 'Maundy' comes from the command or 'mandatum' by Christ at the Last Supper, to love one another.

The tradition of the British Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the thirteenth century. The Sovereign also used to give food and clothing, and even washed the recipients' feet but the last monarch to do so was James II. 

The Royal Maundy Service at Westminster Abbey in 1952 was the Queen’s first public engagement as Sovereign. Every year at Easter Queen Elizabeth II presents special 'Maundy money' to local pensioners in a UK cathedral or abbey in recognition of their service to their community and their church. 

Since the fifteenth century, the number of Maundy coins handed out, and the number of people receiving the coins, has been related to the Sovereign’s age. This year the Queen distributed "Maundy money" to 87 men and women at a special service in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

The Queen, holding a nosegay (flowers traditionally used in medieval times to ward off bad odours) outside Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford following the traditional Royal Maundy Service, 28 March 2013.