King Charles marks this year’s Maundy Service with a video and brief history lesson: Watch

This year the world saw King Charles all smiles, at the Royal Maundy Service, an event that takes please each year on April 2nd, and sees the Monarch distribute ‘special Maundy money’ to local pensioners “in a service which commemorates Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper,” according to the official Royal Family website.

Pictures and details of this years event have even been shared and give a brief over view about what its all about. For those unversed, The Maundy Service happens each year on the Thursday, right before Easter Sunday.

While the event was initially centered around London, the late Queen Elizabeth decided to change that, and began traveling to various cathedrals and abbeys to give gifts to the local elder population. Her tradition has now been adopted by King Charles.

What is Maundy Money?

In respect to the idea of distributing Maundy money, the entire idea is that during the service, The monarch distributes ‘gifts’ “according to the number of years they have lived”. Last year the King presented the money to 74 men and 74 women (signifying his age that year) with Maundy Money “to thank them for their outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities,” according to the website.

Brief History:

Per the website, The service dates back to 600AD and “these special coins have kept much the same form since 1670. They still bear the portrait of Her Majesty designed for her coronation in 1953, even though the image on ordinary circulating coinage has since been changed four times. Each recipient of Maundy money is given two small leather purses by The King, one red and one white.”