Queen cancels engagement on the eve of the anniversary of Prince Philip’s death

Her Majesty has asked Prince Charles to fill in for next week’s Maundy Thursday service

The Queen has cancelled an engagement on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Prince Philip.

Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that Her Majesty has asked Prince Charles and Camilla to represent her at the annual Maundy Thursday service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor next week.

The service is scheduled to be held next Thursday, 14 April.

The Maundy service is held to remember the Last Supper, where Jesus broke bread and drank wine with his disciples. It is held on the Thursday before Good Friday each year.

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

It is understood that the Queen, who has been experiencing mobility issues, was unable to commit to the event, and was keen for the arrangements to be confirmed prior to the order of service being printed, to avoid any misunderstanding or the day being overshadowed.

The Queen has been undertaking mostly virtual engagements after testing positive for Covid in February.

Tomorrow marks one year since Prince Philip’s death. He died aged 99 on 9 April 2021.

Earlier today it was reported that the Queen would mark the first anniversary of Philip’s death “privately”.

On 29 March, the royal family attended a service of thanksgiving for Philip at Westminster Abbey.

The Queen arrived at the service with Prince Andrew, who escorted Her Majesty down the aisle of the abbey to her seat.

Additional reporting by PA