Queen Elizabeth is Handing Out Bags of Money Today!
If any of us were Queen, we’d be handing out buckets of cash on the street like a Looney Tune! Turns out, the Queen of England has the same idea.
Her majesty handed out coins to 91 men and 91 women this morning in a tradition dating back all the way to the 1200s called the distribution of “Maundy money,” which happens every year on Thursday before Easter Sunday.
The number 91 is according to the number of years she has lived — a few more years and she’ll be up to a whole dollar!
HM The Queen today at #Leicester Cathedral for #RoyalMaundy . Fabulous pictures from @WHLJohnston pic.twitter.com/zzd4MDTj0M
— Leicester Cathedral (@LeicsCathedral) April 13, 2017
Each recipient of special Maundy money from The Queen today will be given two leather purses, one red and one white #RoyalMaundy pic.twitter.com/d5lqTD6SGo
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 13, 2017
Each recipient of Maundy money is given two small leather purses, one red and one white: one containing coinage that symbolizes her gift for food and clothing, and the other coins up to the value of her age.
All the recipients were retired pensioners recommended by clergy and ministers of all denominations.
“It seems to have been the custom as early as the thirteenth century for members of the royal family to take part in Maundy ceremonies, to distribute money and gifts, and to recall Christ’s simple act of humility by washing the feet of the poor,” according to the Royal Mint.
Ain’t being royal grand?!