A Coronation Both Ancient and Modern
By Sue Careless
WHY have a coronation when one already has a monarch? After all, a British sovereign ascends to the throne immediately upon the death of his predecessor. Prince Charles became King Charles the moment his mother died. Hence the proclamation: “The Queen is dead! Long live the King!” Continuity and stability are everything. There is no royal vacuum. And today no other European monarch is crowned.
The coronation is a covenant made between God and the sovereign, and between the sovereign and his or her people. Vows and promises are made before God and to God. The Holy Spirit is called down upon the king and queen when they are consecrated for service to God and their people.
Yet it was not the divine right of kings that was conferred upon Charles III on May 6th in Westminster Abbey where, since William the Conqueror in 1066, all English monarchs have been crowned. Nor was a theocracy being pledged. The fifteen realms, including Canada, over which Charles III reigns are all constitutional monarchies and parliamentary democracies.
Ancient and modern
By longstanding tradition, the Archbishop of Canterbury authorizes a new liturgy for every Coronation. The new liturgy is based on ancient texts and ceremonial elements that draw on many centuries of tradition, some dating back to biblical and medieval times.
At the same time the recent coronation, so full as it was of ancient artifacts and rites, also had some fine innovations that did not obscure its Anglican essence and in some profound ways deepened its Christian significance.
Multi-faith representation
The first procession into the abbey was of faith leaders and representatives from the Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Bahai and Zoroastrian communities. They bore witness to the ceremony by their very presence but did not offer any prayers within it. At the end of the service, the king stood before them and the leaders in unison offered him this greeting: “Your Majesty, as neighbours in faith, we acknowledge the value of public service. We unite with people of all faiths and beliefs in thanksgiving, and in service with you for the common good.” Charles acknowledged their greeting.
Rishi Sunak, a practicing Hindu, read the Epistle but he did so in his civic capacity as the current Prime Minister of Britain.
Ecumenical participation
While the service was in its essence Anglican, and Charles must legally swear and sign an oath that he is a Protestant, this coronation had as its second procession Christian leaders representing other denominations. They were not only witnesses but also participants who were invited to offer prayers and blessings during the service. In contrast, at the coronation of Elizabeth II only one non-Anglican, a Presbyterian, had any formal role.
Pope Francis had given Charles tiny fragments which Roman Catholics venerate as part of the cross on which Christ died. Charles had them embedded in the processional Welsh cross behind which he and his wife walked. Christ reigned sacrificially from the cross.
The formal presentation of the Bible to the sovereign, a custom since William and Mary’s coronation in 1689, was enacted by a Presbyterian, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
The oil used to anoint Charles was from olive groves on the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. It had been consecrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A Greek Orthodox choir sang Psalm 72 in Greek, partly as a tribute to Charles’ father Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who was born a Prince of Greece.
After Charles was crowned, a six-part blessing was said, not only by the Archbishops of York and Canterbury but also by a Greek Orthodox bishop, two Protestant clerics and a Roman Catholic Cardinal, the Archbishop of Westminster.
The Realms procession
The third procession was of the flags and Governors General of the nations of which Charles is currently Head of State. Canada was represented by Mary Simon who is Inuit and wore her beautiful annuraaq. Just before he left the abbey, Charles formally greeted the Governors General.
Recognition
From first to last this liturgy focussed on Christ as the King of kings and that, like Jesus on earth, Charles was to serve. It was not the Archbishop of Canterbury who first addressed the King but a young chorister: “Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of kings” to which Charles replied, “In his name, and after his example I come not to be served but to serve.” This new element in the service echoes Jesus own words in Matthew 20:28 of being a servant king.
The Coronation & Accession Oaths
Charles had once mused about being known simply as “Defender of Faith,” rather than “Defender of the Faith” – the faith being the Anglican expression of Christianity. No doubt he wanted to be respectful of the multi-faith communities he served.
But for four centuries, since 1688, when the Coronation Oath Act became law, the English monarch must be Anglican. With James II there had been fears of a new Catholic dynasty. His Protestant daughter Mary and her Protestant husband William were invited to England to rule jointly and James fled into exile.
The original coronation oath also denounced as “superstitious and idolatrous” transubstantiation and the adoration of the Virgin Mary. However, in 1910 King George V objected to publicly insulting the Roman Catholic faith of so many of his subjects and these denunciations were dropped.
In 2012 Queen Elizabeth said of the established Church: “Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.” So Archbishop Justin Welby introduced the oath by asking if Charles “will seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.”
Then Charles declared that he was a “faithful Protestant” and that he would uphold “the Protestant succession to the Throne.”
While he was signing the oath an anthem was sung. The words were from a Collect in the Book of Common Prayer but the music was composed by William Byrd, a Roman Catholic of the Renaissance who composed music for the Anglican church.
Apart from the oaths, the monarch says very little in the traditional coronation service. He is silent and seemingly passive throughout the vesting, anointing, crowning and enthronement.
This year two elements were added that gave him a bit more voice: the exchange with the young chorister and the King’s Prayer. It is possibly the first time that such a personal prayer had been voiced so publicly by a British sovereign. Again, it stresses the king serving all his subjects, not just those of the Christian faith: “Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and conviction….”
The Anointing
While being crowned would seem to be the central defining act of the coronation, the most sacred moment precedes it: the anointing. Old Testament kings were anointed, beginning with the first king of Israel, Saul, who was anointed king by the prophet Samuel. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed King Solomon. The text of “Zadok the Priest” has always been a part of the English coronation rite, but most famously since it was set to music by Handel for the coronation of George II.
Jesus’s Greek title “the Christ” and his Hebrew title “the Messiah” mean “the anointed one.”
Charles had entered the abbey in ermine and a robe with a train so long four young pages helped carry it. But before the anointing Charles must, as it were, humble himself, divest himself of all his finery, removing his Robes of State, and strip down to simple white shirt and black trousers. (His mother wore only a plain white dress at her consecration under a golden canopy.) Instead of a canopy, three screens were placed around the coronation chair while the archbishop anointed Charles’s hands, breast and head with the sign of the cross.
The anointing is a private act, the monarch’s only moment of privacy. Throughout the known history of English coronations, the anointing has been a constant act and emphasizes his being consecrated or set apart to serve God and his people. The screen is said to symbolize “the embrace, the enveloping power and presence of God during this moment.”
During his anointing Charles can see the high altar upon which sit the crowns and all the royal regalia he and his queen will receive. All these objects are taken back or “redeemed.” Some he touches only briefly. St Edward’s crown, the one he is actually crowned with, he will never wear again. It is exchanged in the Chapel of St Edward with the Imperial State Crown which is worn on state occasions. They are entrusted to Charles but they are not his to own.
The Regalia
After the anointing but before the crowning, there is a Presentation of Regalia, made by Peers from the House of Lords and Senior Bishops. According to a commentary authorized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, “The regalia presented by peers from non-Christian faith traditions have been chosen because they do not bear explicit Christian motifs…. His Majesty is invested with these ‘instruments of state’ by all people, not just the Christian Church.” Still, in all the presentations, God is invoked.
The Crowning
On Whitsunday 973 the Anglo-Saxon king, Edgar the Peaceful, was crowned by St Dunstan in Bath, which paved the way for the coronation rite we are familiar with today. The only difference was that his coronation marked the zenith of his kingship rather than the beginning of his reign.
Charles was the 40th sovereign to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. His ancient wooden throne has been part of coronations in the abbey since 1399. Under it was placed the Stone of Scone, that was used originally in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and, after the 13th century, the coronation of the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. It was returned to Edinburgh Castle after the ceremony.
The Homages & Eucharist
Next came three homages: first by the Archbishop of Canterbury kneeling before Charles. Then the heir to the throne, a bare-headed Prince William, knelt before his father and king and swore to be his “liege man of life and limb,” meaning his faithful and loyal subject. William then touched his father’s crown and kissed his cheek.
At Queen Elizabeth’s coronation there was a sea of crowns worn by various nobles including her husband, Prince Philip; now only King Charles and Queen Camilla wore crowns.
In 1953, Prince Philip and all the nobles of the realm paid homage to Elizabeth, each doffing his crown and kneeling before her. While nobility was present at Charles’ coronation, the Archbishop of Canterbury chose instead a more democratic third homage: “The Homage of the People.” When it was first announced in the days before the ceremony, some thought it to be a command and were critical of it, but Welby clarified that it was instead an invitation for those who wished to make the vow.
After the homages, Queen Camilla was anointed but in a simpler ceremony and in public. She then was crowned, given her regalia and enthroned.
Later the royal couple received the Eucharist, publicly but at a discreet distance from the cameras.
Multilingual, Multicultural & Musical
Besides the singing of Psalm 71 in Greek, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel sang Kyrie eleison in Welsh, a new composition by Welsh composer Paul Mealor. It was the first time the Welsh language had ever been sung at a British coronation.
The ancient plainsong hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, “Come Holy Spirit,” has been part of the coronation service since the 14th century. Charles reigns over the United Kingdom which consists of four nations, so at this ceremony the hymn included verses in English, Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.
The Archbishop also invited the 2,200-member congregation and others watching the service to pray the Lord’s Prayer in whatever language they use for prayer.
All the music was glorious. Along with Bach, Parry, Byrd, Handel, Strauss, Gibbons, Walton and Elgar, there were twelve new pieces of music commissioned to accompany the traditional texts of psalms and canticles.
More women were involved in this coronation than in previous ones where, unless they were the queen, they tended to be only silent ladies-in-waiting. Now they were composers, soloists, choristers, musicians and bishops. In a medieval ritual called The Recognition, a baroness and a noblewoman presented Charles to the congregation as “your undoubted King.” And it was the first time the Sword of State and the Sword of Offering were carried and presented by a woman, Penny Mordaunt, a member of parliament.
Just before the ceremony began South African operatic soprano Pretty Yende performed “Sacred Fire,” a new piece written by the British composer Sarah Class. And during the service an eight-member Gospel choir sang Alleluia, a newly commissioned work by Debbie Wiseman.
British baritone Roderick Williams sang Walford-Davies’ ‘Confortare,’ in a spectacular arrangement by John Rutter. There were two powerful congregational hymns, “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation” and “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven,” the latter reminding us that it is to this “everlasting King” that we are to bring our “tribute.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury gave the final blessing: “Christ our King, make you faithful and strong to do his will, that you may reign with him in glory and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, rest upon you, and all whom you serve this day and all your days. Amen.” TAP
This was a new collect written for the coronation of Charles III and said by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour:
look with favour upon thy servant
Charles our King,
and bestow upon him such gifts
of wisdom and love
that we and all thy people
may live in peace and prosperity
and in loving service one to another,
to thine eternal glory;
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit
reigns supreme over all things,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
