'Frustrated' King missing a key royal event in Holy Week

On an important day in the royal calendar, the King is known to be "frustrated" that his on-going cancer treatment is preventing him from being able to do the job he loves.

Today, Queen Camilla will stand in for him as she hands out the traditional "Maundy Money" on the Thursday before Easter.

The Queen will be in Worcester Cathedral without her husband to lead the Royal Maundy service, but the King has recorded an audio message which will be played to the congregation.

It’s only the second Maundy Thursday of the King’s reign, and he carried out the event himself at York Minister in April last year.

But his doctors are not allowing the King to mix with large numbers of people because of the treatment he is having for his cancer.

Most medics predict King Charles has been having a weekly dose of chemotherapy which lowers the body’s immune system.

He is still able to carry out some of the duties of Head of State, with small groups of people, and images have been released of him doing audiences in Buckingham Palace.

Senior royal aides do not want a narrative of “instability” to take hold at what feels like a precarious time for the Monarchy with both the King and the Princess of Wales receiving cancer treatment.

Kate will be unable to carry out public engagements for the foreseeable future.

But, however frustrated it might make him today, King Charles is not able to attend this year’s service in Worcester.

The King would have carried out the tradition of presenting 75 men and 75 women with the Maundy Money. The number of recipients chosen represents the age of the Monarch.

The late Queen visited every cathedral in the country for Royal Maundy in the course of her reign.

When Elizabeth II last went to Worcester Cathedral with Prince Philip in 1980, they handed the money to 54 men and women - given her age at the time.

At her last Royal Maundy service, 96 men and women received the red and white purses of coins.

But that year, 2022, the then Prince Charles stood in for his mother due to her increasing frailty.

The white leather purse contains a specially minted set of Maundy coins. This year, the red leather purse contains a £5 coin and a 50p coin commemorating the lifeboat charity, the RNLI.

The coins in the red purse are legal tender although most recipients prefer to keep them as a collector’s item.

The £5.50 of coins represents £3 for clothing, £1.50 “in lieu of provisions” and £1 to represent a piece of the Sovereign’s gown.

The men and women are chosen by churches across the country in recognition of their service to the Christianity and for making a difference to the lives of others in the community.

In the Christian calendar, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with the Apostles and has its origin in Christ washing the feet of his disciples.

Monarch’s used to wash the feet of the poor, to recall Jesus’ act of humility, but that process was discontinued in the eighteenth century.

The giving of alms - money or food - to those in need dates back to the fourth century and a Monarch has been associated with Maundy Thursday since 1213.

Today, Camilla, as the King’s consort, will carry out the traditional royal event on her husband’s behalf.

However, Buckingham Palace confirms the King has been given the green light by his doctors to attend the Easter Sunday service at the weekend with other members of the Royal Family at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.

This is the Royal Rota - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson.