King and Queen attend Royal Maundy service 2025 hosted by Durham Cathedral

Royal Maundy takes place each year on the Thursday before Easter Day and is a special service in which The King expresses his gratitude for those who serve and volunteer in their communities. The service is rooted in the tradition of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in the Upper Room the night before his death and goes back to medieval times. It was last held in Durham in 1967.

During the service His Majesty presented 152 recipients, 76 men and 76 women (signifying the age of the Monarch), with specially-minted Maundy money to thank them for their outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities. The recipients had been selected from the Diocese of Durham and other dioceses across the Province of York and from Wales and Scotland.

Commenting on the day, The Very Revd Dr Philip Plyming, Dean of Durham said,

‘That was an amazing experience, to have 152 ordinary heroes who have served their community for decades come to the cathedral and be honoured by The King is unforgettable, for them, and all of us who were present.”

Crowds arrived on Palace Green from 8.30am onwards to see Their Majesties’ arrival, with the Durham Miners’ Association Band keeping the crowd entertained.

The King and Queen arrived at Durham Cathedral moments before 11am, and were greeted by The Very Revd Dr Philip Plyming, Dean of Durham and Sue Snowdon, Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham and the Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet, alongside The Bishop of Jarrow, The Right Revd Sarah Clark.

The King and The Queen then headed to the North Door, and once inside the cathedral they were presented with the traditional nosegays.

Commenting after the service, Euan Black, one of the Children of the Royal Almonry said,

‘I am thrilled to have played an important role within the procession.’

The service started with The Lord High Almoner, The Right Reverend Graham Usher, introducing the service with a sentence of scripture reading, ‘Jesus said: I give you a new commandment: Love one another: As I have loved you, so you are to love one another.’  John 13:34

The service was sung by the Choirs of Durham Cathedral and of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, and conducted by Mr Daniel Cook, Master of the Choristers and Organist of Durham Cathedral, and Mr Tim Horton, Director of Music of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal.

During the service, the organ was played by Mr Joseph Beech, Sub-Organist of Durham Cathedral and after the service Their Majesties met the the four Children of the Royal Almonry, Indrakshi Chatterjee, Samuel Parkinson, Euan Black and Eve Brown. By ancient tradition, the four children also accompanied the monarch as he walked around the cathedral distributing the Maundy Money, each carrying a posy of flowers.

After an official photograph outside the North Door, The King and Queen visited the Deanery to see three rare Magna Cartas from the cathedral collection. The 1225 Magna Carta was sealed by The King, and now they’ve been seen by the reigning King & Queen 800 years later. The documents will be on display from 11 July as part of a new exhibition, Magna Carta and the North, alongside temporary artworks and installations throughout the cathedral.

Their Majesties then met members of the Chapter, people from Durham Diocese, musicians and choristers, civics, Durham University staff, supporters and members of the Chapel Royal in the Deanery.

After the service, recipients left the cathedral to join the crowd on Palace Green to wave goodbye to The King and Queen leaving Durham. With smiling faces of recipients and guests leaving the cathedral, many posed for a keepsake photo with their Maundy Money outside the building.

One of the Royal Maundy recipients, Sister Josepha from Sunderland, had been recognised for her work with young people and families in the local community.

She commented on the mixed emotions of such a special day,

‘It was exhilarating, tearful, emotional, exciting. The place itself is iconic, home to northern saints – I feel honoured to be stood in their presence and receive this gift from The King’

After leaving the cathedral to the sound of State Trumpeters, The King and Queen then greeted members of the public who had been waiting outside on Palace Green. Their Majesties left in their motorcade at 1.15pm waving to hundreds of supporters.

The Dean of Durham continued,

“We have had a wonderful day which has had a fantastic team working on this who deserve a lot of praise and now bit of a rest too!”

For more information visit www.durhamcathedral.co.uk