Remembering the Royal Maundy visit
/31st March 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the last visit by HRH Queen Elizabeth II and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh to Rochester Cathedral.
Their visit was part of the celebrations commemorating 500 years of the Mayoral Charter granted by King Edward IV and for the Distrubution of the Royal Maundy service. Before the service the Queen and Prince Philip met dignitaries at the Guildhall and inspected the city charters. They then processed to the Cathedral for the Maundy service. At the service the Queen presented Maundy money to 35 elderly men and women. This was the first time Maundy money had been presented at Rochester Cathedral.
Former Steward, Ursula Melhuish, remembers the day well reminiscing that:
My daughter, who was 8 years at the time, remembers the crowds and excitement, and her younger brother was disappointed because the Queen wasn’t wearing a crown. I remember being chilly waiting…and it was quite difficult to see her as she is so small.
She also made a note in her diary that her Mother, Majorie Palmer, was a flower arranger and helped decorate the Cathedral for the Service and attended herself.
Marilyn Tyler, Project Co-Ordinator at Rochester Cathedral also waited outside the Cathedral:
I was just a little girl of 9 when the Queen visited the Cathedral for the Maundy Thursday service. I was with my mum; 2 brothers and sister and we were standing opposite the Great West Doors on the raised grass area. Lots of people were there and I remember my mum pushing us forward to get as close as we could to get a glimpse of the Queen. Anticipation and excitement were building up as we waited for the Queen to arrive. When I heard lots of people cheering, I saw a lady walking towards the Great West doors with Prince Philip walking behind. The disappointment in not recognising her immediately has always stuck in my mind. She was not wearing regal robing nor was she wearing her crown. For a little girl of 9 that was such a disappointment and it is a memory that I will never forget.
Following the service, they were invited to the Deanery for sherry before going to lunch at the Corn Exchange. The records show that the menu was; turtle soup or smoked salmon, roast ribs of English beef with Yorkshire pudding and vegetables, flan followed by Petit Fours and coffee. The last engagement of the day was at Rochester Castle, where they addressed a large crowd and were presented with a copy of Rochester’s Charters.
Please do get in touch and let us know your memories of the day.
Rebecca Peachey
Thank you to Friends of Medway Archives for allowing us to use information from P.J Salter’s ‘Roll out the Red Carpet’. You can read the whole piece here
Read more about royalty and royal visits:
Royalty and Rochester Cathedral
As we head toward the coronation of King Charles III, Rebecca Peachey introduces the 1,400-year history of royalty and Rochester Cathedral from early patrons, records and statues to the visit of the future king.
Canons, colleagues, volunteers and staff have shared their memories and reflections in many forms over the years.
