Queen will not attend Maundy Day church service

The Queen has pulled out of attending the annual Maundy Day church service and will be represented for the first time by the Prince of Wales, Buckingham Palace has said.

The annual event is an important fixture in the royal calendar and will see Prince Charles follow the ancient tradition of distributing Maundy money to community stalwarts for the first time on Thursday.

ITV News understands the Queen, who has been experiencing mobility issues, regrets being unable to attend but could not commit at this stage to the service, deciding instead to ask Prince Charles to step in to offer clarity at an early stage to avoid any potential later decision to pull out from overshadowing the event.

Lizzie Robinson explains the decision behind the Queen missing the event

Usually the Queen presents “alms” to pensioners for their community service but these duties will be carried out by Charles.

In recent months the Queen has rarely been seen in public but did attend a thanksgiving service for her husband Prince Philip last week.

The 95-year-old monarch reached her Platinum Jubilee in February and overcame a bout of Covid after testing positive that month.

After spending a night in hospital last October she spent the following three months under doctors’ orders to only conduct light duties and missed a number of prominent events.

Charles and Camilla will join the congregation for the Royal Maundy Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

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