As a new portrait of the king comes out, King Charles has stressed how important it is to be friendly to people who are in need.
Doctors told His Majesty not to do public events with a lot of people while he is getting treatment for cancer, so he has chosen to record a special message that will be played at Thursday’s annual Maundy Service.
It was held at Worcester Cathedral this year and is one of the most important events in the royal calendar every year. For Queen Elizabeth, it was also very important on a spiritual level.
Every Thursday before Easter Sunday, the sovereign gives coins equal to the pensioner’s age to people who have done good things in their church and society.
In honour of the fact that Jesus washed the Apostles’ feet at the Last Supper, this practice has been going on since the 4th century.
This year, Queen Camilla will fill in for His Majesty for the first time.
But at the beginning of the month, her husband recorded a special message and Bible reading in the 18th Century Room at Buckingham Palace so that the audience could hear it.
Even though he doesn’t talk about his own cancer diagnosis and treatment or that of his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, anyone will find his message of support even more moving.
The King or Queen will say that Jesus showed us “how we should serve and care for each other.”
He goes on to say that “we benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in times of need” as a country.
The King will say that the people who get Maundy money are “wonderful examples of such kindness” because they “give so much of their lives to the service of others in their communities.”
He will also repeat the promise he made at the Coronation: “not to be served but to serve.”
Because Worcester Cathedral can’t play a TV message, it was made as an audio file instead of a video file.
The new picture that comes with the message shows the King with a bouquet of spring flowers next to him, looking calm and happy, even though he is going through a hard time personally.
His Majesty will also host a smaller-than-usual family party since the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family will not be at church at Windsor on Easter Sunday. This will be his most important public appearance since being diagnosed in early February.
He is still meeting privately and taking care of state business. Yesterday, he welcomed His Excellency Mohamed Nasheed, secretary-general of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, to Buckingham Palace.
Charles looked happy and upbeat on Tuesday as he kept his “business as usual” attitude while he was fighting cancer.
The king or queen smiled as he met Mohamed Nasheed, 56, at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Nasheed is the Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
His doctors told him to cancel all of his public appearances before surgery, but the King has insisted on keeping up with his work and having meetings.
When Charles met Mr. Nasheed, who has won many awards for his work on protecting the environment and fighting climate change, he seemed to be in a good mood.
Also, Mr. Nasheed was the first president of the Maldives to be chosen democratically. He took office in 2008, after a campaign of peaceful protests against dictator Maumoon Gayoom.
