The Yeoman Guard © P.E. Blanche 2002 The Yeoman Warders © P.E. Blanche 2002 The crowds in Burgate as the Queen and Prince Philip enter the Cathedral gates. © P.E. Blanche 2002

The Queen came to Canterbury today with her husband, Prince Philip, to present Maundy Money to 76 men and 76 women at Canterbury cathedral during a special service - to which I was not invited! The tradition of the Maundy ceremony dates back to the time of Edward I and is based upon the idea of the Last Supper. It is the only event in which the Queen (or the reigning Monarch) goes out to the people to deliver the gifts, normally, it would be the other way around. At one time, the ceremony only took place in Westminster Abbey but in recent times the Monarch visits Cathedrals around the Country to distribute the Maundy money which is specially minted for the occasion. The Queen has been to Canterbury once before to present these gifts in 1965, and so far, Canterbury is the only City that has been visited twice for this same purpose. Well before the arrival of the Queen and Prince Philip, a company of Yeoman Warders were paraded outside of the County Hotel in the High Street. They then marched up the High Street, into Mercery Lane, and into the Precincts of the Cathedral. They are in attendance in the Cathedral during the hour-long ceremony and service. There were large crowds lining the short route down Burgate to the Cathedral and it's been a long time since I've seen so many police in Canterbury although most of them were only drafted in for the day. Following the service at the Cathedral the Queen had lunch at the King's School which occupies the building behind the Cathedral and left from there up Palace Street to return up Burgate and finally onto the A2 to head for the Medway Towns where she visited The University of Greenwich buildings later in the afternoon.