Maundy money and Maundy Thursday

Creative Commons License Text by Philip Halling, April 2015 ; This work is dedicated to the Public Domain.
Images are under a separate Creative Commons Licence.

Dating back to the thirteenth century every year at Easter the British monarch presents special 'Maundy money' to local pensioners in a UK cathedral or abbey. Maundy Money is specially minted money and presented to an equal number of men and woman dependent on the monarch’s age, for example, when The Queen was 60 years old, 60 women and 60 men would have received 60 pence-worth of Maundy coins. In 2017, the service was held in Leicester Cathedral, as a result the Queen has distributed money in all of England's cathedrals. Since coming to the throne in 1952, The Queen has distributed Maundy Money on all but seven occasions, three of these were the last three years of her life. The ceremony did not take place in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID. In 2022, the Prince of Wales distributed the Maunday Money on behalf of the Queen.

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.

Traditionally the Sovereign gave money to the poor, and would also give food and clothing, and even washed the recipients' feet. The last monarch to do so was James II.

Listed below are the locations of the Maundy services during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II from her Accession to the throne in 1952, to her death in 2022.
1952 TQ2979 : Westminster Abbey by Peter Trimming Westminster Abbey
1953 TQ3281 : St Paul's Cathedral by Philip Halling St Paul's Cathedral
1954 TQ2979 : Westminster Abbey and War Memorial, London by Christine Matthews Westminster Abbey (The Lord High Almoner officiated, as The Queen was on a Commonwealth tour)
1955 TQ3280 : Southwark Cathedral by Philip Halling Southwark Cathedral
1956 TQ3079 : West Side of Westminster Abbey, London by Christine Matthews Westminster Abbey
1957 TL1407 : St Albans Cathedral by Philip Halling St Albans Abbey
1958 TQ2979 : Westminster Abbey by Peter Langsdale Westminster Abbey
1959 SU9676 : St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by Andrew Abbott St George's Chapel, Windsor
1960 TQ3079 : Western entrance, Westminster Abbey, Broad Sanctuary SW1 by Robin Sones Westminster Abbey (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother officiated, as Prince Andrew was born in February)
1961 TQ7468 : Rochester Cathedral: overall view by Stephen Craven Rochester Cathedral
1962 TQ2979 : Westminster Abbey by DS Pugh Westminster Abbey
1963 TL7006 : Cathedral church of St Mary the Virgin, Chelmsford by Julian P Guffogg Chelmsford Cathedral
1964 TQ2979 : Western Facade, Westminster Abbey by Robin Sones Westminster Abbey (Princess Mary, The Princess Royal officiated, as Prince Edward was born in March)
1965 TR1557 : Canterbury Cathedral by Julian P Guffogg Canterbury Cathedral
1966 TQ3079 : North Transept, Westminster Abbey by Philip Pankhurst Westminster Abbey
1967 NZ2742 : Durham Cathedral by Bryan Pready Durham Cathedral
1968 TQ2979 : West Front, Westminster Abbey by Philip Pankhurst Westminster Abbey
1969 SE6132 : West Front, Selby Abbey by Paul Buckingham Selby Abbey
1970 TQ3079 : A glorious August lunchtime at Westminster Abbey by Basher Eyre Westminster Abbey (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother officiated as The Queen was in New Zealand)
1971 SO8932 : Tewkesbury Abbey by Philip Halling Tewkesbury Abbey
1972 SE6052 : York Minster by Philip Halling York Minster
1973 TQ3079 : Westminster Abbey by Thomas Nugent Westminster Abbey
1974 SU1429 : Salisbury Cathedral by Philip Halling Salisbury Cathedral
1975 TL1998 : Peterborough Cathedral by Philip Halling Peterborough Cathedral
1976 SO5039 : Hereford Cathedral by Philip Halling Hereford Cathedral
1977 TQ3079 : Westminster Abbey SW1 by Robin Sones Westminster Abbey
1978 NY3955 : Carlisle Cathedral by Philip Halling Carlisle Cathedral
1979 SU4829 : Winchester Cathedral by Philip Halling Winchester Cathedral
1980 SO8454 : Worcester Cathedral by Philip Halling Worcester Cathedral
1981 TQ3079 : Westminster Abbey by Row17 Westminster Abbey
1982 SM7525 : St David's Cathedral by Philip Halling St David's Cathedral, Dyfed
1983 SX9292 : Exeter Cathedral by Julian P Guffogg Exeter Cathedral
1984 SK7053 : Southwell Minster by Philip Halling Southwell Minster
1985 SE3171 : Ripon Cathedral by Philip Halling Ripon Cathedral
1986 SU8504 : Chichester Cathedral by Philip Halling Chichester Cathedral
1987 TL5480 : Ely Cathedral by Pierre Terre Ely Cathedral
1988 SK1109 : Lichfield Scene by Gordon Griffiths Lichfield Cathedral
1989 SP0687 : St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham by Philip Halling Birmingham Cathedral
1990 NZ2464 : The Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas by Mike Quinn Newcastle-upon-Tyne Cathedral
1991 TQ3079 : Westminster Abbey taken from the cloisters by PAUL FARMER Westminster Abbey
1992 SJ4066 : Chester Cathedral from Abbey Street by John S Turner Chester Cathedral
1993 ST5545 : Wells Cathedral by Philip Halling Wells Cathedral
1994 SW8244 : Truro Cathedral by David Dixon Truro Cathedral
1995 SP3379 : Coventry Cathedral by David Dixon Coventry Cathedral
1996 TG2308 : Norwich Cathedral by Philip Halling Norwich Cathedral
1997 SE1633 : Approach to the western end of Bradford Cathedral by HelenK Bradford Cathedral
1998 SZ6399 : Portsmouth Cathedral by Peter Trimming Portsmouth Cathedral
1999 ST5872 : Bristol Cathedral by Philip Halling Bristol Cathedral
2000 SK9771 : West front, Lincoln Cathedral by Philip Halling Lincoln Cathedral
2001 TQ3079 : Deans Yard and Westminster Abbey by PAUL FARMER Westminster Abbey
2002 TR1557 : Canterbury Cathedral by N Chadwick Canterbury Cathedral
2003 SO8318 : Gloucester Cathedral by Philip Halling Gloucester Cathedral
2004 SJ3589 : Liverpool Cathedral by Ian Greig Liverpool Cathedral
2005 SE3320 : All Saints Wakefield Cathedral by Stanley Walker Wakefield Cathedral
2006 SU9850 : Guildford Cathedral by nick macneill Guildford Cathedral
2007 SJ8398 : Manchester Cathedral by David Dixon Manchester Cathedral
2008 H8745 : St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh by Rossographer St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh
2009 TL8564 : St Edmundsbury cathedral, Bury St Edmunds by Evelyn Simak St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds
2010 SK3536 : Derby Cathedral by Philip Halling Derby Cathedral
2011 TQ2979 : Westminster Abbey, west front by Oxyman Westminster Abbey
2012 SE6052 : The Minster by David Dixon York Minster
2013 SP5105 : Cathedral, Christ Church, Oxford, from the cloisters by David Hawgood Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford
2014 SD6827 : Blackburn Cathedral, west front by Christopher Hilton Blackburn Cathedral
2015 SK3587 : Sheffield: cathedral church of Ss. Peter & Paul by Chris Downer Sheffield Cathedral
2016 SU9676 : St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by David Dixon St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
2017 SK5804 : Leicester Cathedral by Ashley Dace Leicester Cathedral
2018 SU9676 : Windsor Castle, St George's Chapel by Len Williams St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
2019 SU9676 : Windsor Castle: St. George’s Chapel by Chris Downer St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

2020 The Maundy money service was planned to take place once again at St George's Chapel, Windsor, but due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic was cancelled. The following message was posted on the British Monarchy website:

"Given the current circumstances, the Royal Maundy Service 2020 could not go ahead at St George's Chapel, Windsor, as planned.

Instead some weeks ago, the Maundy money was blessed at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, before being posted to recipients alongside a letter from The Queen. This meant recipients could still receive their Maundy money and purses, and instead mark the special occasion from their homes."

2021 Again due to COVID restrictions the Maundy money was blessed at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, and posted out to recipients with a letter from The Queen.

2022 SU9676 : St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by Andrew Abbott St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The Queen was represented at the Maundy Service by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Information sourced from The British Monarchy websiteLinkExternal link
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Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   Images used on this page, © Copyright Philip Halling, David Dixon, Robin Sones, Julian P Guffogg, Peter Trimming, Christine Matthews, PAUL FARMER, Andrew Abbott, Chris Downer, Philip Pankhurst, nick macneill, Ian Greig, Stanley Walker, David Hawgood, Rossographer, Evelyn Simak, Oxyman, Christopher Hilton, Ashley Dace, N Chadwick, Mike Quinn, HelenK, John S Turner, Gordon Griffiths, Pierre Terre, Row17, Thomas Nugent, Basher Eyre, Paul Buckingham, Bryan Pready, DS Pugh, Stephen Craven, Peter Langsdale and Len Williams; licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

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