Thursday 2nd April 2026

Their Majesties The King and Queen will attend the Royal Maundy Service at St Asaph on Thursday 2nd April 2026; the first time the occasion has been held in Wales since 1982 and only the second time in its history.

https://stasaphcathedral.wales/en

During the service, the King will present the Royal Maundy gifts to 77 men and 77 women from Wales and other dioceses across the UK. The Maundy Money is given in recognition of recipients’ outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities.

His Majesty will present recipients with two purses containing the unique Maundy Money. In the white purse will be a set of specially minted silver Maundy coins totalling 77 pennies, to match the King’s age, and in the Red Purse will be a £5 coin commemorating 100 years since Queen Elizabeth II’s birth, and a 50p coin that celebrates the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust.

The service this year will feature specially commissioned music by Welsh composers and musicians, celebrating the return of the Royal Maundy to Wales. At the conclusion of the service, Their Majesties will join the Royal Maundy Party for the traditional photograph outside the West Door before meeting members of the cathedral community.

The Royal Maundy can be traced back in England to the 13th century, with the first recorded Royal Distribution at Knaresborough, North Yorkshire by King John in 1210. From the 15th century, the number of recipients has been related to the years of the sovereign’s life.

The Royal Maundy recipients are selected from Church of England dioceses, and Anglican and Ecumenical partners across the UK. This year, the recipients have largely been chosen from
six dioceses in Wales (Swansea & Brecon, St. Asaph, Bangor, St. Davids, Llandaff and Monmouth) alongside four English dioceses that are close, or border with, Wales (Chester, Hereford, Lichfield, Sodor & Man).

About St Asaph Cathedral, Llanelwy - the Welsh name for St Asaph - means the sacred religious enclosure on the banks of the River Elwy. Worship is at the heart of the life and work of this ancient cathedral where prayers have been offered daily for 1,450 years.

St Asaph Cathedral is the UK’s smallest ancient cathedral. The current building dates from the 14th century and was instrumental in the preservation of the Welsh language. It displays an original copy of the William Morgan Bible, which dates from 1588. William Morgan went on to become Bishop of St Asaph in 1601.

St Asaph Cathedral, one of the main heritage attractions in north Wales, receives thousands of visitors each year for regular services, as well as events, conferences, concerts and festivals.
St Asaph Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of St Asaph, one of the six bishops of the Church in Wales, an autonomous Province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Royal Maundy Service this year will see the use of the processional Cross of Wales, a gift from His Majesty The King to the Christians of Wales. The cross, which, headed the procession at Westminster Abbey for Their Majesties’ coronation in 2023, contains a fragment of the True Cross, a gift to the King from His Holiness Pope Francis and believed to be part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified.