King Charles and Queen Camilla attend annual Royal Maundy ceremony following the King's personal Easter message
17 April 2025, 13:33 | Updated: 17 April 2025, 16:27
King Charles and Queen Camilla have participated in the annual Royal Maundy service.
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The Maundy ceremony takes place every year on the final Thursday before Easter Sunday.
The event at Durham Cathedral commemorates Jesus' Last Supper when he washed the feet of his disciples as an act of humility the day before Good Friday.
In his personal Easter message, King Charles has hailed love as an important virtue across religions and one that the world "still needs".
The King reflected on the "paradox of human life" and the capacity for humans to inflict both great cruelty and great kindness.
He also praised Islam and Judaism, with both believing in "caring for the stranger and those in need".
Read more: King Charles and the royal family's Easter traditions revealed
'Community'
The ceremony is a major fixture on the royal calendar and normally the monarch, who is the head of the Church of England, presents specially minted coins to people recognised for their community service.
Charles, who announced his cancer diagnosis the previous February, did not attend the service in Worcester Cathedral last year.
The annual ceremony takes place in a different Anglican cathedral every year - as a result of a decision made by Queen Elizabeth II.
This is to ensure the event is not always held in London.
'Moved'
Prior to the Maundy service, the Dean of Durham, Very Reverend Philip Plyming, said Maundy Thursday is about "remembering the service and sacrifice of Jesus and it will be so special to celebrate, in such a memorable way, those who live out the example of Jesus today".
King Charles was reportedly 'deeply moved' by the religious 'mosaics' he witnessed in Ravenna on the state visit to Italy, which took place last week.
At the Maundy service, Charles will present 76 women and 76 men, signifying his age, with two purses, one red and one white, filled with Maundy money.
This year, the red purse will contain a £5 coin commemorating the Queen Mother and a 50p coin featuring stories of the Second World War.
The King and Queen will also see a special exhibition of Durham Cathedral's Magna Cartas, which are on display for the first time in eight years.
'Love'
In the Easter message, The King said Jesus' actions were a "token of His love that knew no bounds or boundaries and is central to Christian belief".
"The love He showed when He walked the Earth reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions, and in the hearts of all who seek the good of others," he said.
"The abiding message of Easter is that God so loved the world, the whole world, that He sent His son to live among us to show us how to love one another, and to lay down His own life for others in a love that proved stronger than death.
"There are three virtues that the world still needs, faith, hope and love. 'And the greatest of these is love'."
Charles also said humanity is "capable of both great cruelty and great kindness".
He continued: "This paradox of human life runs through the Easter story and in the scenes that daily come before our eyes, at one moment, terrible images of human suffering and, in another, heroic acts in war-torn countries where humanitarians of every kind risk their own lives to protect the lives of others."
"A few weeks ago, I met many such people at a reception in Buckingham Palace and felt a profound sense of admiration for their resilience, courage and compassion."
