God Save the King

From the Catholic Herald:

 

When King Charles enters Westminster Abbey for his coronation on May 6 he will be preceded by the Cross of Wales, a silver processional cross made for the Church in Wales containing two relics of the True Cross. These were given to him by Pope Francis. It is a mute witness not only to the friendly relationship between the King and the Pope but to the reality that the monarchy is grounded in Christianity and to the fundamentally Christian nature of the coronation itself.  

The monarch is the head of state of the United Kingdom, but he is something more; he will be a consecrated king, sealed with the oil of chrism. And sacral kingship is very old indeed. In the Old Testament we find that, as the anthem  at the service reminds us, “Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king.” It is asking a great deal of any human being to follow the kingship of Solomon, but the character of this part of the ceremony quite consciously follows the precedent in scripture. The oil itself is richly symbolic. And, following the late Queen’s example, King Charles’s anointing will not be televised. Some things are sacred yet. 

His Majesty is a committed Christian and a conscientious head of the Church of England. Yet he famously declared, 30 years ago, that he wanted to be a defender of faith as well as of the Faith. Catholics have always regarded the title with some reserve. But in its larger application, the title is a worthy one for monarchs to bear, for it reminds them that they are Christian kings or queens, with a duty to uphold Christianity. That does not mean indifference to other faiths, but it does mean that the sovereign must take seriously this element of his role

The Coronation Oath since 1688 has required the monarch to profess the Protestant faith and to secure the Protestant succession. Few Catholics would object to this promise as it was fulfilled by the late Queen. She combined a sincere devotion to the Church of England (Scotland is different) with an equally sincere friendship with other Christian denominations, including the Catholic Church. Indeed the coronation ceremony itself is directed by the Duke of Norfolk, the country’s premier lay Catholic.

Other faiths will of course be represented at the cere-mony, as is appropriate in a country where the Prime Minister is a Hindu and the First Minister of Scotland a Muslim.

The archbishop of Canterbury has said that the coronation will be “deeply Christian” and “representative of the people of this land”. But it is striking that the representatives of non-Christian faiths themselves respect the Christian character of the service. 

There is one aspect of the coronation which is problematic from a Catholic perspective. The Queen Consort will also be crowned. Many people will recall that her position derives in part from her relationship with the King when they were both married to other people, causing pain to their respective spouses. Andrew Parker Bowles, Her Majesty’s first husband, is a Catholic himself.

Still, monarchs have not invariably been associated with exemplary marital behaviour; the origins of the Church of England make that clear. And the good works of the King and his wife in supporting vulnerable communities, encouraging care for the environment and, not least through the Prince’s Trust, helping young people learn skills and self-respect, speak for their commitment to the common good as well as practical Christian charity. 

Catholics will welcome a robust affirmation of the King’s Christian faith over the course of his reign. The very fact that the late Queen was so firm in her own faith and so conscientious in its practice – she never missed church on a Sunday – was an example for others. It would be heartening if younger members of the Royal Family were equally committed. The King, in his first Christmas address to the Commonwealth, spoke of his own faith; we hope he will continue to do so, and not just in public pronouncements.

The King can raise the issue of the global persecution of Christians, including in Commonwealth countries, in his private dealings with politicians; indeed, he is ideally placed to do so. And by virtue of his efforts over many years to promote greater understanding of Islam, he is in a position to address Muslim heads of government in particular about it. That really would be to defend the faith. 

His Majesty faces many challenges in his role as monarch. As Catholics, we should pray for him – of that there is no doubt. 

Vivat!

From EWTN:

The flags are up in the main streets of cities around Britain, and groups of enthusiasts in suburbs and villages around the country are planning street parties. Shops are selling souvenirs: tins of tea and of shortbread bearing pictures of King Charles III, packets of small flags to wave, paper crowns, commemorative mugs, tankards, tea towels and more. We will have special prayers at Mass during coronation weekend and at the main Masses probably also the national anthem. The trimmings of the coronation are all there: Huge crowds will be lining the route to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony. I plan to be among them, with a team of friends and family, a picnic basket, foldaway chairs and an umbrella, just as I was back last June for the Platinum Jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II. And there are some moving and powerful aspects to the coronation that have a significance far beyond their immediate interest. Pope Francis has sent two fragments of the True Cross to the king, and these, embedded in a silver processional cross specially made in Wales, will be carried in procession at the start of the Westminster Abbey ceremony on May 6. This is an extremely important and historic gift from Rome, a powerful moment in our history. Talk of the ceremony being “multifaith” is somewhat wide of the mark. Certainly, representatives of Britain’s Muslim, Sikh and Hindu people will be present in prominent seats and invited to greet the king, but the prayers, anointing and crowning will all certainly be specifically Christian and identical to those used in coronations of past centuries. Something that has been much overlooked is that anti-Catholic aspects of the ceremony, introduced in the 17th century, have now been abandoned. In 1901 when King Edward VII was crowned, he was obliged to repeat an oath specifically denouncing the doctrine of transubstantiation. He disliked it and deliberately spoke it in a very low voice so as not to hurt the feelings of his Catholic subjects. It was the last time the oath was used; with the next king, George V, it was abandoned. King Charles III will simply promise to uphold the teachings of the Church of England and will add something about defending religious freedom generally. And there will be formal Catholic participation in the service, most probably with the cardinal-archbishop of Westminster reading a prayer, as he did at the queen’s last September. The media has been highlighting memories of the previous coronation, held in the middle of the last century. There are still many older people who remember it well: Few families had televisions in those days, so neighbors gathered together to watch, crowding around tiny screens with black-and-white pictures and then enjoying sandwiches and cakes, with butter and sugar only recently released from wartime rationing. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster summed up the memories of so many in June 2022: “How well I remember the Coronation mug and the bar of chocolate in its decorated tin box that I received, along with every child, on the day of Her Majesty’s Coronation. It was also the first time that I watched a television!” 1953 does seem a very long time ago. When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, this was a united country that had endured two grim wars and where people were deeply conscious of a shared history with records going back more than 1,000 years. Most children were born into married families. It was normal to attend a local church, and all schools began each day with Christian prayers and hymns. Foreign travel was rare. A coronation resonated with concepts familiar to most people: Christianity, formality, traditions, a sense of structure to community life. Today, it is easy for lobby groups to tap into a national mood that reflects a sense of confusion about who we are and what values we are meant to share. As I walked through a northern city the other day, the coronation flags hung in streets that also carried, as a matter of routine, rainbow stripes on steps at various points, placed there by the public authorities for the summer’s annual “Pride” events. Advertisements and shop displays tend to reflect every sort of lifestyle except that of a married man and woman with children. Media stories highlight the debates over gender: a teacher made to apologize for saying, “Good morning, girls” to her pupils at an all-girls school; members of the Royal Air Force told they can each choose whether to wear a male or a female uniform. Where does the coronation fit into this? It has the capacity to bring us all together and to introduce Christian ceremony into the lives of people wholly unfamiliar with it. There will also be marching and bands, a display of the military traditions for which Britain is so famous and of which we are justly proud. But an extremist anti-royal group has announced plans to disrupt the day, using tactics already familiar, through animal-rights campaigners. And how much do most of our young people understand about the true value of our constitutional monarchy, of the role it plays in ensuring a place for nonpolitical patriotism, a sense of community, a cherishing of the best of our heritage and traditions? History is very badly taught in most schools today, for fear of failing to follow currently fashionable ideas on all sorts of things ranging from sexual difference to industrialisation, empire and our relationship with animals. And will most of those watching on TV be familiar with the Lord’s Prayer or with the Scripture readings? And where does the Church of England, which has just voted to allow blessings for same-sex couples, fit into our national life today? Many years ago, I met Prince Charles at an ecumenical event chaired by a Catholic lady who gathered younger people together to talk to him. I remember him as genuinely interested, engaged and frank. He used the traditional “Our Lord” when referring to Christ and spoke as one reasonably informed about the Christian faith and certainly at ease in discussing it. He has the prayers of many of us upon his anointing in Westminster Abbey. God save the King!