Queen Elizabeth helped celebrate Holy Thursday by handing out Maundy money to 93 men and 93 women during Maundy Thursday service held this year at St. George’s Chapel.
Royal Maundy dates back centuries. Some of the specifics of the traditional service have changed but it still involves individuals receiving gifts from the monarch.
“In modern times this has evolved into a tradition of giving a monetary reward in pence equaling the age of the ruling monarch to a number of men and a number of women each equaling in total number the age of the monarch,” describes The Royal Mint
“The 2019 dated Maundy set consists of four coins with a total value of 10 pence, individually a Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence and One Penny, all with the young head depiction of the Queen engraved by Mary Gillick.”
Mary Gillick’s effigy of the Queen appeared on the first coins during her reign in 1953 in both the UK and Australia.
On Thursday, each of the 186 elderly people, selected in recognition of their service to the Church and local community, received a red and white purse.
Every red purse held a 2019 UK £5 coin celebrating the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth and a 2019 UK 50p coin portraying Sherlock Holmes in commemoration of the 160th anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth.
White purses included silver Maundy coins with their face values adding up to 93 pence for the Queen’s age on Sunday.