I was nominated by the Bishop of Derby, Bishop Libby, along with Madelaine Goddard, to receive Royal Maundy at Worcester Cathedral, a great honour for us both and, in my case, for reasons that are not at all clear, because I have simply been carrying out my role as churchwarden at St Anne’s church, Ambergate, during long years of interrregnum.

The distribution is in two parts and the gifts handed to the recipients are symbolic.

Two leather purses are given, one red and the other white.

They have been beautifully manufactured with leather thongs, which are tied together to form a single presentation package of the two purses.

The red purse contains a nominal allowance for clothing and provisions, formerly given in kind, and a payment for the redemption of the royal gown and consists of a crown (£5) with an image of a Tudor Dragon and, this year, a 50p celebrating 200 years of the RNLI.

The white purse contains the Royal Maundy, a set of silver coins, in denominations of 1p, 2p, 3p and 4p, that amount to the age of the King, seventy-five years.

Each individual pouch amounts to 10p and a separate pouch contains a 2p and a 3p to make the total up to 75p.

The Lord High Almoner, The Right Reverend Dr John Inge, who is also the Bishop of Worcester, talked to the recipients as well as the rest of the congregation, about the service, its history and origins quoting the mandatum and setting the scene for the service.

Then, the processions started and the whole service became, for me, highly emotional and overwhelming.

Those wonderful words of the great hymn "When I survey the wondrous Cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride” came into my mind and I became acutely aware of the honour that I was about to receive.

Christ, in all His glorious resurrection, was present in this service and I am very grateful for being nominated by the Bishop of Derby!

When it came to the Distribution of the Royal Maundy, I was positioned on the south aisle at the rear of the main section, one set of rows forward of the west door.

Queen Camilla came down the south aisle bestowing Royal Maundy on each recipient, positioned at the end of each row of pews.

When it came to my turn to receive the Royal Maundy, the Queen said: “Thank you for your service”, to which I replied: “Thank you, your Majesty, it is much appreciated.”

Maundy facts

The tradition of presenting alms on Maundy Thursday goes back to at least the 4th-Century.

The Maundy money ceremony itself began in 1662, when Charles II gave out coins.

This year, Queen Camilla distributed the Maundy money to 75 men and 75 women from around the country - one man and one woman for each year of the monarch's age.

The gift is presented in recognition of their exemplary Christian service to church and community over many years.

In recent times it has been the tradition for the service to travel to different cathedrals; last year the service was held at York Minster. It was last held in Derby in 2010.

The word ‘Maundy’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘commandment’ - it was on this Thursday, the day before he died, that Jesus gave his disciples what he described as a new commandment: ‘that you should love one another as I have loved you’.