New York

Distributing money to the poor on the Thursday before Easter is a long-standing Christian royal tradition. Monarchs from Charles II to Queen Victoria frequently used the Banqueting House for this special ceremony, which evoked the way Jesus took the role of the lowliest servant and washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. As well as distributing cash, food and clothing, the monarch was also expected to wash the feet of the paupers who approached them. However, this wasn’t really an unpleasant task, as a royal official ensured that the chosen paupers’ feet were very well scrubbed in advance!