Another important event for Queen Elizabeth II has been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown in the United Kingdom. The annual Order of the Garter service is now postponed, as St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the event will take place on June 15, will be closed until June 30.
Members of the royal family usually join Her Majesty for the annual service. Hundreds of spectators gather on the street of Windsor to see Garter Knights walk on the grounds of Windsor Castle, wearing their blue velvet robes and black velvet hats with white plumes, Hello! Magazine noted.
As the sovereign of the Garter, Queen Elizabeth leads the Membership in the Order, along with other senior members of the royal family, like Prince Charles and Prince Williams. Twenty-four knights are also chosen in recognition of their work.
Her Royal Highness personally chose the Knights of the Garter to honor those who hold public office that has contributed to national life or has personally served the sovereign. This includes Marshal of the RAF, Lord Stirrup, and former Prime Ministers Sir John Major and Sir Winston Churchill.
Aside from the annual Order of the Garter, Queen Elizabeth's Royal Maundy Thursday traditions are also canceled. Hence, Forbes reported that the monarch only sent her red-and-white money pouches through post, which she did for the first time, breaking centuries-old tradition.
The separate red-and-white leather pouches have the symbolic £5 and commemorative coins inside, which the Queen usually gives every Maundy Thursday of each year to 188 pensioners across the U.K. The number of recipients follows the life of Queen Elizabeth and given to both men and women. For this year, it was sent out to 94 men and 94 women, as she is about to celebrate her 94th birthday on April 21.
The Maundy Thursday ceremony was supposed to be held at St George's Chapel in Windsor, led by Queen Elizabeth. However, just like most people in the U.K. and in some parts of the world, she is self-isolating and practicing social distancing.
The giving out of the red-and-white pouches is dated back to 600 A.D. and is continuously ongoing without interruption every year, even in wartime. However, as the recipients and Queen Elizabeth herself need to follow the U.K. government's order that people who are over 70 years old and with certain underlying conditions should self-isolate, the practice needs to be altered to continue the tradition.
