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WHAT IS MAUNDY THURSDAY? Maundy Thursday - also known as Holy Thursday - commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The day falls the day before Good Friday and this
year is on Thursday, March 29. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. It makes the beginning of the three day celebration of Easter. WHY DOES THE QUEEN
GIVE ALMS TO THE POOR? Every year the Queen attends a Royal Maundy service at one of Britain’s cathedrals. The monarch hands out Maundy money to male and female pensioners from local
communities near the Cathedral where the service takes place. This year, she will be attending the traditional Royal Maundy service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle It is the same
church Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will get married later this Spring. Around 92 men and 92 women will receive Maundy Money from Her Majesty - the number of men and women is equivalent to
the Queen’s age. The coins are legal tender but are not used for common purchases. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the 13th century from the reign of
Edward I. At this time, recipients were required to be of the same sex as the Sovereign, however since the eighteenth century there are as many men and women as the monarch has years of age.
The act of humility and generosity the monarch carries out on Maundy Thursday is meant to imitate the humility of Jesus Christ. During the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and
up until 1689 the King or Queen would wash the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday in Westminster Abbey. However this tradition was abandoned after the death of King James II.