THE Queen today said she was “sad” after the Maundy Thursday service was axed due to Covid – but thanked community heroes for their work to “enrich the life” of their neighbours during the pandemic.
The 94-year-old monarch has continued her royal duties despite the pandemic – ensuring the worthy Brits are recognised despite restrictions forcing the in-person event to be cancelled.
The Queen said she was ‘sad’ the Maundy Thursday service could not be held this year
Her Majesty sent coins to a string of community heroes
Her Maj – who The Celeb Report revealed today has has her second Covid-19 jab – had yesterday beamed as she headed out for her first engagement outside of Windsor in five months.
The Queen joked with officers at the Royal Australian Air Force centenary event on Wednesday – the first time she has been out and about since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s explosive Oprah interview and Prince Philip’s hospitalisation.
Despite the drama within the Royal Family, the Queen kept calm and carried on with her duties.
And today was no different with the monarch honouring a string of community heroes with symbolic Royal Maundy service coins despite the Westminster Abbey event being unable to be held due to Covid.
In a letter, the Queen wrote her “personal thanks” to the recipients, adding: “I am sure you will be sad, as I am, that present circumstances make it impossible for that Service to take place.
“I hope however that this Maundy Gift will remind you for years to come that your efforts have been truly appreciated.”
During the Royal Maundy service, the Queen would have distributed Maundy money to 95 men and 95 women – as she will be 95 on April 21 this year.
However due to Covid, the event was cancelled for the second year in a row.
Instead, recipients were presented with the symbolic coins by post.
Among those who received Maundy money was one of the country’s oldest skiers, 101-year-old George Stewart, who has been a permanent fixture at his local Perthshire church in Scotland for almost 30 years
Mr Stewart, a widower and retired forester from the town of Scone, said: “I’m very honoured to be given this money as part of a very venerable and ancient occasion. I think it’s a great thing and I’m very honoured to receive the letter the Queen sent with it.”
Also recognised was Sue Ward from Portsmouth who is a church warden at the city’s cathedral and supports a number of organisations including Christian Aid through fundraising and awareness raising events.
She said: “I’m astonished and delighted to receive Maundy money from the Queen. I don’t really feel as though I deserve it, but it is an honour and I’m very grateful.
“I’ve found being a churchwarden a joy, and a wonderful introduction to the whole of diocesan life, not just the local community. In a cathedral, you are very much a logistics person, making sure that everyone is being looked after.”
JABS MA’AMY
It comes as it was revealed the Queen has joined millions of other Brits in receiving her second Covid jab.
She was given the shot ahead of her first public appearance in five months yesterday.
She went maskless and was cheered at an air force celebration in Runnymede, Surrey, following months in her Windsor Castle bubble.
The Celeb Report can reveal a staggering 99.25 per cent of people offered a second vaccine dose have turned up to appointments so far.
Her Majesty told crowds she was “delighted” to be outdoors in her first public engagement since November.
She stepped out of her bubble and was treated to a Red Arrows flypast at the centenary celebrations of the Royal Australian Air Force.
The Queen told onlookers at the Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede, Surrey: “It is a rather nice day. I’m delighted to be here.”
Her last public engagement had been at Porton Down, Wiltshire, in October alongside Prince William.
She led Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph on November 8.
Husband Philip, 99, was absent yesterday after recent heart surgery and a month in hospital.
During Philip’s spell in hospital the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plunged the monarchy into a crisis by accusing a member of the royal family of racism – not the Queen or Philip – and claiming that Meghan received no support with her mental health problems.
The Queen, 94, said in a statement afterwards that the issues are concerning, but that “some recollections may vary” and the matter is a family one that will be dealt with privately.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Cambridge defended the House of Windsor, saying during a recent visit to a school in east London: “We’re very much not a racist family.”
The Queen wrote a letter of thanks to Maundy Thursday recipients
Sidney Adams from Exeter was also honoured
Carole Braggins from Llandaff in Wales with her gift of Maundy money
Alistair Macfarlane from Coventry was honoured
Malcolm Cloutt from Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, a veteran Second World War RAF pilot who served in Europe and Burma and turned 100 last year, holding his gift of Maundy money
Palace of Sue Ward from Portsmouth who is a church warden at the city’s cathedral and supports a number of organisations including Christian Aid through fundraising
George Stewart from Perthshire, one of the country’s oldest skiers
Neville Pogue from County Armagh
