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THE King will stress the importance of acts of friendship in his Easter message today.

Charles, 75, has recorded a Bible reading and personal message for the congregation at the Maundy Thursday ceremony at Worcester Cathedral.

EMBARGOED TO 2230 WEDNESDAY MARCH 27 EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO SALES. Publications are asked to credit BBC/Sky/ITV News. The photograph is being made available by way of license on condition that the photograph shall be solely for news editorial use only, no charge should be made for the supply, release, or publication of the photograph; there shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photograph - including any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-editorial use. The image must not be digitally enhanced, cropped, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. Undated handout photo issued by the Royal Household of King Charles III during the recording of the The King's audio message which, was recorded in the 18th Century Room at Buckingham Palace, London, for the Royal Maundy Service which will take place at Worcester Cathedral on Thursday. Issue date: Wednesday March 27, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL Maundy. Photo credit should read: BBC/Sky/ITV News/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
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King Charles is to stress the importance of acts of kindness in a pre-recorded personal message for the Easter weekendCredit: BBC / Sky / ITV / PA Wire

Queen Camilla, 76, is standing in for him and will hand out ceremonial coins to 75 men and 75 women — the number reflecting Charles’s age.

The silver coins distributed at the Royal Maundy service are specially minted.

Recipients are chosen for their service to the church in their local area.

The amount of people who receive the coins depends on the sovereign's age.

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In his brief personal message, the King will say how, as a nation, “we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need”.

He will praise Maundy money recipients as “wonderful examples of such kindness”.

He will read from the Bible and say how the Lord Jesus set us an "example of how we should serve and care for each other".

And he will reamplify his own Coronation pledge “not to be served but to serve”.

The message was recorded at Buckingham Palace earlier this month and played on loud speakers to hundreds expected to attend.

King Charles addresses the nation in his second annual Christmas speech 2023
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