Queen Camilla to break 1400-year-old tradition for King Charles

Queen Camilla will be stepping in for cancer-stricken King Charles in a major way as she takes the reigns for a major event.

The Queen Consort will be attending the Worcester Cathedral’s Maundy Thursday services on March 28, and will distribute the traditional Maundy Gifts on the monarch’s behalf, the church announced on Monday.

“We are SO excited to announce that we will be welcoming Her Majesty The Queen to the Cathedral on Maundy Thursday (28 March) as we host the Royal Maundy service,” the post read, alongside a photo of the church and some of the gifts, a collection of coins that Camilla is set to distribute.

While Camilla had attended the service previously alongside her husband, but this will be the first time since over 1400 years a consort will be distributing the gifts, instead of the monarch.

The Maundy Service happens each year on the Thursday before Easter Sunday.

According to the Royal Family’s official website, the traditional service dates back to 600 AD, with the monarch distributing gifts to parishioners in a parallel of Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles at the last supper.

In modern times, the monarch distributes coins equal to the number of years they’ve lived.

Hence, Camilla will gift 75 men and 75 women with the coins in commemoration of Charles’s 75 years of life so far.

According to The Daily Mail, the pre-Easter service will be “the most significant royal event the King has been absent from to date.”