Right royal welcome from the Shepherd family

Simon Shepherd and his family were in York last week when the Queen visited the city for this year’s Royal Maundy service. For our American colleagues and others, unfamiliar with British customes, you can find out more about the Maundy service here.
With a guest list of more than 2,000 people in York Minster - and a crowd numbering several thousand outside, it certainly felt like a great state occasion.
People began gathering in the April sunshine at about eight in the morning, several hours before the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice of York, were due to arrive.
As the crowd grew, the queues of guests passed through strict security as they took their seats in the cathedral. The queue also included the 86 men and 86 women chosen to receive the Maundy money from the Queen.
As you can see from the picture of Simon with his daughter Georgia, 13, and son Henry, nine - the Shepherd family really entered into the spirit of the celebrations for this year’s Diamond Jubilee.