Easter in the Royal Collection

Easter is the oldest Christian tradition. It celebrates the resurrection of Christ. It is the culmination of Holy Week, during which Christians remember the key events leading up to Jesus' death and Resurrection, as told in biblical accounts. For Christians and non-Christians alike, it is a period associated with rebirth, Easter eggs and springtime blossoms.

Easter celebrations begin on Maundy Thursday. Each year on this occasion, The Queen travels to a different cathedral across the country and hands out Maundy Money to individuals, in recognition of their service to their community. Good Friday marks the day that Christ was crucified on the cross. Today it is commemorated by eating hot cross buns.

Easter Sunday is the culmination of this holiday period, marking the Resurrection of Christ. The Queen usually attends a service at St George’s Chapel, a fourteenth-century chapel located at the Lower Ward of Windsor Castle. Many of us will mark the day with an Easter egg hunt –a tradition that may actually originate in a Medieval Anglo-Saxon festival, which welcomed spring and renewal following the winter months. The Queen does not take part in an official Easter egg hunt but her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, described many happy Easter Sundays pursuing such activities: