The Royal Maundy by William R S Stott, 1936, oil on board (37cm x 53cm).
This painting depicts the one and only service presided over by King Edward VIII in Westminster Abbey, Easter 1936. The king acceded to the throne on 20 January 1936, upon the death of his father, King George V, and reigned until his abdication on 10 December 1936.
In Britain the monarch follows a very traditional role of giving Maundy Money to a group of pensioners. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the reign of Edward I in the 13th century.
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