The Queen will miss Maundy Day church service for the first time ever amid mobility issues

(Image credit: Buckingham Palace via Getty Imag)
By Georgia Farquharson
published

The Queen will not attend this year's Maundy Day church service and will be replaced by Prince Charles for the first time ever.

Her Majesty the Queen has regretfully pulled out of attending the Maundy Day church service, one of the most important days in the royal calendar over Easter.

The Maundy Day service is held at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, and will return this year after a two-year break due to covid-19.

The Maundy Day service takes place on Maundy Thursday every year, in which the Queen historically distributes Maundy money to pensioners, as per tradition dating back to 600AD.

But sadly this year the 95-year-old Monarch has been forced to pull out, meaning Prince Charles will step-up and complete the duties on behalf of his mother.

Prince Andrew, Prince Charles and the Queen on the balcony for Trooping the Colour

Credit: Getty

A Buckingham Palace statement confirmed the news: "Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will represent Her Majesty The Queen at the Royal Maundy Service at St George's Chapel, Windsor on Thursday 14th April.

"The Prince and The Duchess will be met by the Dean of Windsor, The Right Reverend David Conner KCVO and the Lord High Almoner, the Right Reverend Dr. John Inge.

"Their Royal Highnesses will be presented with nosegays at the start of the service, during which The Prince of Wales will distribute the Maundy money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bNAzFfPJo

"Following the service, The Prince and The Duchess will proceed to the West Steps where an official photograph will be taken of Their Royal Highnesses and the Royal Maundy party."

It comes just days after a royal expert suggested the Queen will do less and less in-person appearances as her mobility deteriorates following a bout of ill-health in recent months.

According to The Telegraph, royal expert Camilla Tominey said, 'The diary has become quite an agile piece of royal equipment in the sense that it's up to the Queen in the morning what she can and can't do...People are going to be coming to the Queen rather than her travelling to them.

"What we think is the Queen isn't having health problems but mobility problems - she can't stand for long periods or walk for long distances and therefore accommodations are being made."

Georgia Farquharson
Celebrity writer

Georgia is a Celebrity and Royal Writer working across GoodTo and Woman & Home, and the Director and Founder of communications company Farq Media. Prior to this she was Online Editor at New! Magazine – managing all of their digital content and social media accounts. Where she interviewed all of the hottest reality TV stars and spent far too much time commuting to London. She trained at Nottingham Trent University – where she achieved First Class Honours in Print Journalism whilst juggling copious amounts of work experience, freelance writing, blogging and having far too much fun with the dance society. 

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