King Charles and Queen Camilla get the giggles during royal maundy service

King Charles and Queen Camilla have kicked off Easter by attending the royal maundy service at Durham Cathedral on Thursday.

The appearance marked a return to the annual event – always held the Thursday before Easter – for the monarch, who last year was forced to skip the service on account of his cancer treatment.

It meant Her Majesty was left to attend the service solo at Worcester Cathedral and made history as she handed out the maundy coins on behalf of her sick husband.

READ MORE: How the British royal family celebrates Easter

This year the air was much lighter, with the 76-year-old monarch and his 77-year-old wife even sharing a giggle during the service.

It’s not sure what set them off but footage from inside the cathedral shows Camilla making a comment behind her order of service booklet that made the King chuckle.

At the conclusion of the service, King Charles went back along the aisle handing out the Maundy Money, one of the oldest royal ceremonies.

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It involves specially minted coins being given to a select group of men and women, usually pensioners, who are recognised for their exceptional Christian service and contributions to their local communities.

The number of men and women given the royal maundy gifts changes annually and is based on the monarch’s age.

So this year there were 76 men and 76 women who received the two purses – one red and one white, containing Maundy Money.

The white purse held specially minted silver maundy coins and this year, the red purse contained a £5 coin commemorating the Queen Mother and a 50p coin featuring World War II stories.

After the ceremonies were over, the King and Queen posed for a group photo with local school children and the royal maundy party outside the cathedral.

For the occasion Queen Camilla was dressed in a velvet bottle green dress with a matching coloured hat, which she had to hold on to as the wind picked up outside.

Her Majesty added a black cape-style jacket with leather gloves and tights to round out the formal spring look.

King Charles dressed in a dapper morning suit with tails and a pastel blue tie and pocket square.

After arriving at the cathedral, the royal couple were presented with a small bouquet each before the procession through the nave.

They also carried the traditional nosegays as they met with choristers while heading to visit the Deanery, where they met with those involved with the Maundy Thursday service afterwards.

King Charles and Queen Camilla also got to views a display of the cathedral’s Magna Cartas, which are on display for the first time in eight years, in recognition of the 800th anniversary of the 1225 issue in Durham’s collection.

Before heading back to London, the couple met with some of the hundreds of locals lining the streets outside the cathedral.

The King and Queen shook hands, met dogs and accepted flowers, with the monarch looking jovial and sharing plenty of laughs with the locals in the sunshine.

The outing comes after the royal couple’s busy four-day state visit to Italy last week, which was the King’s first big outing after being hospitalised for side effects to his on-going cancer treatment.

His Majesty was diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer February 2024, after it was discovered during a routine prostate procedure, though Buckingham Palace state the cancer is unrelated.

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Royals celebrating Easter through the years: in photos

Ahead of their appearance in Durham, King Charles released a special Easter message, contemplating the “paradox of human life” which he says “runs through the Easter story”.

“One of the puzzles of our humanity is how we are capable of both great cruelty and great kindness,” His Majesty said.

“In the scenes that daily come before our eyes — at one moment, terrible images of human suffering and, in another, heroic acts in war torn countries where humanitarians of every kind risk their own lives to protect the lives of others.”

King Charles, who gets multi-faith leaders involved in major royal occasions, also echoed the sentiments of peace and tolerance regardless of religion or race in his message.

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