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Queen Elizabeth will be missing the Royal Maundy Service this year. Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will represent the 95-year-old monarch at the service held at St. George’s Chapel on April 14.
HOLA! USA’s sister brand HELLO! understands that Her Majesty, who turns 96 on April 21, “has been unable to commit to next week’s outing” and “with the order of service being printed, she was keen to confirm attendees and make sure all participants were aware.”
A royal source told PEOPLE , “It is with regret that she isn’t attending.”
The Prince of Wales and Camilla will be presented with bouquets at the start of the service, during which Charles will distribute the Maundy money. The Maundy Service happens every year on the Thursday before Easter Sunday. Her Majesty was joined by her granddaughter Princess Eugenie at the service in 2019.
“Early in her reign, The Queen decided Maundy money should not just be distributed to the people of London, and so she now travels to various cathedrals or abbeys to give gifts to local people,” per the royal family’s website.
Although Her Majesty won’t be attending the Royal Maundy Service, she did recently attend the Service of Thanksgiving for her late husband, Prince Philip, on March 29 in London. The Duke of Edinburgh passed away last April. HELLO! understands that the Queen and the royals will mark the one-year anniversary of Prince Philip’s death (April 9) in private.