Maundy money handed out by the Queen in traditional service

On the fifth day of Holy Week, The Queen and her granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, have attended the traditional Royal Maundy service in Windsor.

She handed out the Maundy money to 93 men and women - one for each of her 93 years.

The Queen celebrates her birthday this year on Easter Sunday.

The Royal Maundy Service one of the most ancient ceremonies still observed by the Church of England.

Queen Elizabeth II with Princess Eugenie leaving St George's Chapel in Windsor after the annual Royal Maundy Service. Credit: PA

Maundy Thursday is the day before Easter when Christians around the world commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus with the Apostles.

The Queen, in a bright yellow outfit on a warm April morning at St George’s Chapel, distributed two purses to each recipient.

The red purse contained a £5 coin, which commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria and a 50p coin portraying Sherlock Holmes.

The white purse contained minted Maundy Money coins which equals the number of years of the Monarch’s age.

The alms dishes she uses for the Maundy Money date back to the time of King Charles II.

Queen Elizabeth II with Princess Eugenie outside St George's Chapel in Windsor. Credit: PA

The Queen is usually in residence at Windsor during Easter - but historically the Court used to travel around the country during Holy Week.

Until recently, The Queen went to cathedrals around England on Maundy Thursday and she had visited every single one by the time she held the service in Leicester in 2017.

Her first Maundy service as Monarch was at Westminster Abbey in 1952 but it has been held as far north as Carlisle (1978) and as southwest as Truro (1994).

She also held Royal Maundy in Wales at St David’s (1982) and in Northern Ireland at Armagh (2008).

Queen Elizabeth II with Princess Eugenie leaving St George's Chapel in Windsor after the annual Royal Maundy Service. Credit: PA

The word Maundy derives from the Latin word "Mandatum" which means "a commandment" - and it reflects Jesus’s command to his disciples on the day before his crucifixion to "Love one another as I have loved you."

Although Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, the practice of washing feet at the Royal Maundy service was discontinued in 1730.

Instead the Maundy Money is distributed by the Sovereign.