article_snippet.sent: In an echo of the Last Supper, mediaeval and Tudor monarchs also washed the feet of beggars during the traditional Royal Maundy Service.
article_snippet.sent: None took it more seriously than Mary I - or Bloody Mary - who in 1556 washed the feet of 41 'poor women' and spent a ceremony that is still recognisable today on her knees.
article_snippet.sent: The 800-year-old tradition used to involve washing beggars' feet - hence the nosegay .
highlights_snippet.sent: Royals were once required to wash the feet of beggars during the service .
  