Royal Family Feuding Distracts From The Sacred Nature Of Coronations

Although the question of whether Prince Harry would attend King Charles III’s coronation ceremony on May 6 has been resolved, the drama isn’t over.

Will the Duchess and Duke of Sussex follow the palace’s rules regarding their attendance? Prince Harry’s and Prince William’s civility allow them to continue their relationship. Prince Harry’s next book will feature more intimate conversations. The list goes on. “important” questions goes on.

As with many things in our culture today, the high-profile titt-for-tat disguises the true nature this ancient ceremony. At the core, coronations of kings and queens in Western nations are worship services — leaders presenting themselves before God and answering His call for their lives and the lives of the people in their nation.

Most people are unaware of the deep, profound Christian roots that can be found in both English coronations and all coronation ceremonies for Western rulers. The majority of people who are aware of the Christian roots will respond with cynicism. They will reduce Christianity and the Bible as props to justify their legitimacy and gain power.

However, to view these ceremonies in terms of power, authority, and legitimacy is a sign of corruption and misses a fundamental point: How does this ceremony legitimize rulers. They legitimize because they are true expressions of what society believes — or at least once believed.

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

This can be seen during Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation. It was the first English coronation shown on TV. Royal Air Force jets were ready to fly the film anywhere in the Commonwealth during the pre-satellite 1950s era.. Yet only those inside the abbey had the benefit of seeing the most solemn and sacred part of the coronation ceremony — the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This portion of the ceremony was too intimate for cameras to be intrusive.

Queen Elizabeth was stripped of all her royal trappings and dressed in a plain linen gown, as Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishopof Canterbury, prepared to anoint it. The English have this ceremony since the coronation in 973 of King Edgar at Bath Abbey. For nearly 1000 years, every English monarch has stripped off their royal robes and kneeled before God to receive the Holy Spirit’s anointing. Now Elizabeth was the turn.

As the Church of England’s clergy and bishops held tent poles attached to yellow canopys, she waited. They lifted the tent pole over her head. The archbishop carried consecrated oil in a container and took her place under the canopy. This is reminiscent of the Exodus Tabernacle. The tabernacle was an open tent that moved along with the Israeli children on their long journey through the Sinai Desert. It was also the dwelling place for God on Earth. The tabernacle would be located in the middle of any camp site where the Israelites stayed. The center would be surrounded by the tents of families.