Support for Royal family at Maundy service

The Queen has received messages of support for her family at the Royal Maundy Service.

She attended the occasion at Worcester Cathedral in place of the King and presented 150 purses of commemorative coins to deserving people.

Bishop of Worcester Dr John Inge, who led the service, remembered the King during the Blessing and told the Queen: "We hope you will convey to him our love and respect."

Outside, Queen Camilla was presented with flowers and cards from people wishing His Majesty and the Princess of Wales well for their cancer treatment.

Sheila Clark, 66, from Glasgow, handed over a posy of flowers, a picture of the King and Queen, and a card for Kate.

The retired teacher said the card expressed the hope that "Kate's getting on well and I'm sorry to hear about her illness and hoping Kate gets peace now to recover".

Laura Skrzynskr, 58, who is originally from the United States, said: "I told Camilla to send her good wishes to the King for me and to the Princess of Wales - and I wished her a happy Easter."

The service was last held at Worcester Cathedral in 1980

The King has stepped back from large-scale public duties to continue his cancer treatment and said it was with "great sadness" he was not able to attend the traditional service himself.

It dates back to the reign of King John, a monarch who is buried at Worcester Cathedral.

This year, 75 women and 75 men, signifying the King's age, were presented with purses containing a selection of commemorative coins.

One recipient, Norman Tomlinson, 72, from Mansfield, said it had been a "fantastic day".

He added: "I said to the Queen I hope the King gets well soon and your daughter-in-law as well, and she said 'thank you very much'."

There were noisy protests when the Queen arrived at the cathedral

When the Queen first arrived however, a noisy protest involving the anti-monarchy group Republic was taking place.

It issued a statement ahead of the service saying the monarchy is "bad for Britain's democracy".