Easter is a special time for many in the UK as they enjoy a long weekend with two bank holidays! Often, the royal family gather at Windsor to celebrate. This year of 2019 was especially celebratory as the Queen's 93rd birthday fell on Easter Sunday, 21st April.
The Queen’s 93rd Birthday
The Queen was born not in a palace or castle, but her maternal grandparents (the Earl and Countess of Strathmore’s) home of 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London, in 1926. Her parents were not yet King and Queen, and had the titles of Duke and Duchess of York. Therefore, the new baby was known as HRH Princess Elizabeth of York. She grew up in 145 Piccadilly in London, and at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until her uncle, King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, and get father became king. They moved into Buckingham Palace and spent time at Windsor Castle, Sandringham, and Balmoral too. During the second world war, the King and Queen remained at Buckingham Palace but Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret stayed at Windsor Castle. When Her Majesty ascended the throne in 1952 she moved from her then-residence at Clarence House to Buckingham Palace. But it is Windsor where she spends her weekends. To me, the Queen’s long life has been a huge blessing to the stability of the monarchy and nation, and when we sing, ‘Long to reign over us,’ and, ‘God save the Queen,’ we really are praying for her; these prayers have been answered in the long life, service, and wisdom of our monarch, and her strength that she derives from her faith. Clearly having her birthday on Easter Sunday, a time of rebirth and renewal, and of remembering the victory of Jesus will mean a lot to Her Majesty.
In celebration, the Irish Guards performed a rendition of Happy Birthday during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. On Monday the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery will stage a 41 Gun Royal Salute at noon in Hyde Park. A further 62-gun salute will also be performed by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London at 1pm. The Salutes are postponed as they cannot take place on a Sunday.
Maundy Thursday
So the Queen spent Easter at Windsor. The celebrations began on Maundy Thursday, 18th April. The Queen followed royal tradition by attending a Maundy Thursday service at St George's Chapel, Windsor. She was accompanied by Princess Eugenie. In the past, Eugenie’s sister Beatrice has accompanied the Queen, as has Prince Philip, who is now retired. The chapel is the same one where in October last year Princess Eugenie married Mr Jack Brooksbank (and also where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex married). Princess Eugenie wore a floral dress she has worn before, by Erdem, designed with blue florals. The Queen wore a yellow coat and purple floral dress by Stewart Parvin, with a hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan. Princess Eugenie wore a headpiece by Juliette Botterill. I think they both dressed very appropriately, and it is lovely to see Eugenie upholding tradition alongside her grandmother.
The outfits of both were complimented by yellow and purple bouquets that they each held, containing daffodils, primroses, stocks, purple statice, freesias, ivy, hebe and the herbs rosemary and thyme. They were presented with them upon their arrival at the church, and then carried the bouquets as they walked to the front of the congregation to take up their seats. In the past, the fragrant bouquets or, ‘nosegays,’ would have warded off unpleasant smells.
The Queen handed out Maundy money to pensioners as per tradition. This comes from the tradition of handing out food and provisions to the poor, and washing them as Jesus washed his disciples feet. Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday when Jesus had the last supper with his disciples, and is part of the build up to Easter. The word Maundy is derived from the Latin word ‘mandatum,’ which means command, referring to the command that Jesus gave his disciples to love each other during the Last Supper, ‘A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.’ (John 13:34, Revised Standard Version).
The pensioners are chosen by the church as those who have greatly contributed to their communities. The Queen hands out money to the same number of pensioners as her age; she turns 93 this month so 93 men and 93 women received commemorative money. In a red purse they received a £5 commemorative coin for the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth, and a 50p coin commemorating Sherlock Holmes, both coins newly minted this year. The traditional £5.50 sum comes from the origin of £3 for clothing, £1.50 in lieu of provisions and £1 for the redemption of the Sovereign’s gown which, before Tudor times, used to be divided between the recipients. A second purse, a white purse, contains coins minted especially for the occasion. This year it contained 1,2,3, and 4 penny silver pieces. These feature the portrait of the Queen that first featured on coins at the start of her reign, by Mary Gillick, but now our coins feature a more up to date portrait. The first king to issue such money was King John, but his grandson Edward I altered the tradition so it only took place on Maundy Thursday. Before, the sovereign gave out money on many different days throughout the year.
In previous years, the Queen has travelled around the country to a different cathedral each year, but since 2017 she has carried out the tradition at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, due to her age. Her Majesty first attended the service aged 8, when her grandfather, George V, was on the throne. The Queen has only missed the occasion 4 times in her reign, in 1954 when she was away touring the Commonwealth, in 1960 due to the imminent birth of Prince Andrew, again in 1964 for the birth of Prince Edward and in 1970 due to a tour of New Zealand. This year, children from Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Berkshire were also present.
The Prince of Wales’ Good Friday Message
On Good Friday, Prince Charles released his annual Good Friday message. This year it focused on knife crime, and he linked it to the hope of the Easter message, and how light can overcome the darkness. This is his message:
"Easter and Christmas are the two most important celebrations in the Christian calendar. I have always felt that the words we hear at Christmas come into their own at Easter especially those from St John’s Gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it”. On Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the Light of the World, and the triumph of life over death and light over darkness.
Already this year we have seen some terrible deeds of darkness, from young people being knifed on our streets, to the slaughter of men, women and children while they were worshipping God. There are times when it can feel as if the light has gone out of the world and darkness reigns. But Easter gives us hope. The attempt to extinguish the life and light of our Lord failed. Darkness was defeated by His overcoming death. Through His resurrection, His light continues to shine.
Throughout my own life, it has been a humbling experience to meet and to listen to people who have suffered the most terrible personal tragedies. The way they have grieved and turned their grief into action to help others in the most extraordinary way is an example of the light overcoming the darkness.
Recently, Prince Harry and I brought together some of those who have been affected by knife crime to see what more could be done to tackle this pervasive horror. Listening to those who have suffered from such attacks filled us both with immense sadness. But their determination to move forward and address the causes of such crime and to find solutions was, for me, yet another example of the light shining in the darkness.
Today, on Radio 4, Gee Walker will talk about what Good Friday means to her. She is the mother of Anthony Walker, the talented, 18-year-old black student from Liverpool who was murdered with an axe in a brutal racist attack in 2005. Gee talks openly about her pain and her grief. But she also speaks about the day she heard herself offering forgiveness to Anthony’s murderers. Her example was inspired by the Easter story and by our Lord’s own prayer from the Cross that the Father would forgive those killing him.
Of course, those who commit such brutal deeds need to face up to their crimes through being brought to justice. However, very often it is not the punishment that brings them to their senses and changes them, but rather the extraordinary power of the forgiveness from those they have hurt.
Last month we saw another remarkable example of forgiveness following the utterly appalling attack on Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. Farid Ahmed, a senior leader of the mosque in Deans Avenue, publicly forgave the gunman who so cruelly murdered his wife, Husna, and 49 other members of the Muslim community there. “I don’t hate him at all, not at all … I love him because he is human, he is a brother of mine,” he said. Like Gee Walker, he is a shining example to us all.
It is all too easy at this time, I know, to feel overwhelmed by the darkness, and by all that is going on in the world. It is truly devastating to know of the numbers of people of all faiths around the world who are suffering simply because of their religion. Over recent years I have made a point of meeting Christians from other countries – and those from other faiths – who have been persecuted because of their faith.
In many cases they have been forced to flee from their homelands. It is estimated that 245 million Christians worldwide have faced persecution. The most vulnerable are the women and their children. Many of them have been attacked and made homeless. I have been immensely moved and humbled by the courage and dignity of those I have met.
This Easter they are specially in my prayers as they follow in the footsteps of our Lord who died for his faith. They have impressed me deeply by their lack of bitterness and by their desire to return to their lands (some of them having managed to do so) to live in harmony with those of other faiths. The Easter message, with its emphasis on the timeless and universal values of forgiveness and reconciliation, gives hope to us all whether we live by faith or not. It encourages us to look for and to celebrate those moments in our own lives and in our own communities when we see the light overcoming the darkness.
I wish you all a very Happy Easter."
I think the Prince captured the true meaning of Easter and made it relatable to us today.
Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday, the Queen attended the annual Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. This year she was joined by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duke of Sussex. The Duchess and the Queen both wore shades of blue. The Earl and Countess of Wessex with Lady Louise Windsor, the Duke of York with Princess Beatrice (although Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank was absent), Princess Anne and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Peter and Autumn Phillips, and Mike and Zara Tindall, were also present. Prince Philip, who is retired, was not present, nor was the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. The service lasted around one hour. Following the service, the Queen received 3 cheers and a rendition of Happy Birthday as she got into her car.
Last year, the Cambridge’s broke royal protocol when they were stuck in traffic on their way from the Duchess’ family in Bucklebury, to St George’s Chapel. This made them late to the service, so they arrived after the Queen, which is simply not done. But since it was not their fault, they are not to blame. The Cambridge’s hardly ever put a foot wrong usually, and I am very impressed by them. No doubt the younger royals such as Prince George and Princess Charlotte enjoyed an easter egg hunt at some point throughout the day, as the Duchess of Cambridge told well-wishers last year that they had had one that morning. In March she told members of the public that Prince Louis is a fast crawler and pulling himself up with walking aids, so maybe he has joined them too! This shows that, once again, the royals enjoy the same things as us!
Although the Queen does not participate in any official sort of Easter Egg Hunt, the Royal Collection Trust, which safeguards the artwork and treasures that the royal family has, in trust, for the nation, contains several items inspired by Easter Eggs, such as the Colonnade Egg Clock, the Mosaic Egg, and the magnificent Basket of Flowers Egg which was originally commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II as an Easter present for his wife, Tsarina Alexandra.
The Duchess of Sussex (& Baby Sussex!) at Frogmore Cottage
The Duchess of Sussex did not join the family, as she is expecting the arrival of her first child any day now. I expect she may have joined the family for private celebrations for Easter and the Queen’s birthday, later in the day. Especially as her and her husband now live at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor. They have officially moved in after having renovated the house. They have installed an organic vegetable plot, to grow their own herbs, fruit and veg, no doubt they are following the example of Prince Charles, and I know Meghan is keen to be organic and environmentally friendly. The interior design is by Vicky James, co-founder of interior design company Charles & Co, and features reportedly include a yoga room, gym, and big open kitchen diner. As a housewarming gift, the Queen gave the couple a selection of artwork from the Royal Collection to choose from, to decorate their new home. The nursery has been decorated in gender neutral tones as the couple do not know the sex of their baby. They have used vegan paint with essential oils in it to create a calming environment; again, this is, I can see, in keeping with the Duchess’, in particular, values of being eco-friendly, and the value of natural remedies such as essential oils.