Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Saturday, 8 April 2023

The first Royal Maundy of King Charles III is distributed at York


Maundy Thursday was the first occasion on which the King has distributed the Royal Maundy as sovereign. Last year he did so on behalf of his mother at St George’s Chapel at Windsor. This year however it was given in coins bearing his portrait and title in the traditional service which was held at York Minster.

The history of the Royal Maundy is set out in considerable detail by Wikipedia at Royal Maundy

I posted about the service last year at The Royal Maundy and something about the history of the service during the sixteenth century two years ago in The Royal Maundy. I also posted about it as a tradition in this country and in other European realms in 2011 in The Royal Maundy


The Royal Mint website has photographs and an account of the King’s coins which can be seen at The Royal Mint Unveils His Majesty King Charles III’s Official Maundy Money Coins

Royal Central also has an article about this year’s Maundy at The first Maundy coins of the reign of King Charles III are unveiled

In addition His Majesty marked his visit to Yorkshire this week by granting the prefix Royal to the Yorkshire Regiment. This was created in 2006 by the amalgamation of three regiments that recruited in the historic county - The Prince of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment, the Green Howards ( Alexandra Princess of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment ) and the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment ( West Riding). The first two had strong royal connections as their names indicate and the late King Olav V of Norway was the Colonel-in-Chief of the Green Howards for many years. The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment was unique in being the only regiment that bore the name of someone other than a member of the Royal Family. Personally I regret the fact that since the 1960s so many historic regiments have been merged and then merged again, with the loss of county and local identity. There may be good operational reasons but I do wonder if the sense of belonging to a regiment with a county affiliation and that was part of soldiers’ family and locality helped to create and sustain comradeship.

That said the now Royal Yorkshire Regiment is apparently the only regiment that now has a county appellation. The York Press has an article about the new regimental honour at King honours Yorkshire Regiment as 'Royal' during visit, as has the Army website at https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/04/royal-title-for-yorkshire-regiment/


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