King Charles and Queen Camilla bring Royal Maundy to Wales after 41 years

King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to bring a royal tradition to Wales for the first time in more than 40 years. 

On Thursday, April 2, the monarchs will travel to St Asaph Cathedral in north Wales to preside over the Royal Maundy Service.

A centuries-old ceremony that sees the sovereign personally distributing silver coins known as Maundy money to people recognised for their Christian service and contributions to their communities.

This marks only the second time in the service’s long history that Wales will host the event, the last being in 1982. 

For context, the Royal Maundy has rarely ventured outside England, with the last non-English service held in 2008 at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

At St Asaph, Britain’s smallest ancient cathedral, around 77 men and 77 women will receive two specially prepared purses each. The white purse contains silver coins totaling 77 pennies one for every year of the King’s life.

While the red purse holds two commemorative coins: a £5 piece celebrating the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth and a 50p coin marking 50 years of The King’s Trust.

The recipients hail from Wales’s six dioceses Swansea & Brecon, St Asaph, Bangor, St Davids, Llandaff, and Monmouth as well as four English dioceses bordering Wales: Chester, Hereford, Lichfield, and Sodor & Man.

St Asaph Cathedral, known in Welsh as Llanelwy “sacred religious enclosure on the banks of the Elwy” has been a place of continuous worship for an astonishing 1,450 years.