The Crowning of the King

 


   Last weekend I had to work. After taking a shower I went to You Tube hoping to watch a little of King Charles III's coronation. I was happy to discover that the procession down the aisle of Westminster Abbey was just about over and I could watch the whole ceremony. 

   As a resident of the country that fought free of British rule a few hundred years ago, I probably shouldn't have been as interested as I was. After all the monarchy is outdated and the idea of someone having authority due to birth instead of ability or the will of the people is just plain wrong. Right? 

   Despite that, I've been looking forward to watching the Coronation. It was the first coronation of a king since 1937.  The United Kingdom and the world were quite different back then. I wondered how those planning this event would make it more inclusive and modern as King Charles III wanted it to be and still include traditional things as well. I'd like to share with you a few things that stood out to me as I watched.

   The first thing I noticed was that it is very much a religious ceremony. I suppose that should have been obvious given that coronations are conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  I didn't realize that it is a service of anointing and setting apart. Much of the elements of the service seemed to be focused on reminding the king of his responsibilities and that he is accountable to God. During the ceremony the king  (and queen) are anointed with oil that has been blessed. A screen was put up so that the king could be anointed out of view of those seated. While I do like the the ceremony is broadcast for all to see, it's good that there are some private moments.

   Another thing I noticed was that King Charles was taking this all very seriously. Again this is not something that should not have been surprising. His mother was a woman to dedicated herself to public duty at a young age and tried to do her best to serve her people all her life. To me he seemed to be thoughtful as he took the oaths and made the promises he had to make during the ceremony.

   Before the king is crowned there are pieces of clothing and other regalia that are presented to the king. There items were presented by a diverse group of people. In fact there was more diversity than I expected. Eight members of Christian gospel group sang during the service.

   I know that there are a lot of people who protested the coronation and many who want the monarchy abolished. I understand their point of view was much as one living in this country can. The thought of part of the money I pay in taxes going to the living expenses of a family that doesn't do much and already seem to have more than most would definitely not sit well with me. However I do see an advantage to having someone in government whose position is lifelong and not dependent on re-election. 

   Given this official start to his rule, it will be interesting to see what kind of king Charles will be.....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Things

     C and I usually have a date day or at least part of a date day once a week. It's a time where we spend time with each other doing something fun or maybe simply having lunch out. Since Thursday was Thanksgiving and neither of us felt like eating out, we decided to go out for a hot chocolate.   Right before we left C had an idea. We should get our hot chocolate and also share a peppermint shake from Chick-fil-A. He said the the combination of the hot chocolate and the cool peppermint shake would be really good. I thought it was overkill, but agreed to do it.    After dropping a loaf of bread off at a friend's house we went through the drive through to get the hot chocolate. When I have a choice I usually get dark chocolate. It's not quite as sweet and has lots of flavour. C always gets milk chocolate. Then we went to Chick-fil-A. C went inside and picked up our preordered shake. It was topped with whipped cream and a cherry. I asked C if he wanted to cherry. He said no s
Read more

Released

   A few weeks ago I was asked to stay after a Ward Council meeting. Normally it's a meeting I don't attend, but the Relief Society president was out of town and one of my duties was to sit in for her on such meetings. I was fairly sure I knew what it was going to be about.     After the meeting I stayed behind while everyone had left. It was just me and one of the bishop's counselors. We sat in some chairs at one side of the bishop's office. He told me that I was going to be released from my calling as a Relief Society counselor. The release was going to be announced at Sacrament meeting (what the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call their worship service.) that would take place in about 20 minutes. I'm sure I startled the counselor with my expression of joy and relief at what he told me. I'm sure he was expecting me to be upset and bewildered. Usually one knows about a release at least a few days before it happens.     I had a feeling that this was
Read more

Looking for A New Project

           Earlier this year I finished the 10 stitch blanket that I've been working on for a long time. It was a very relaxing project and I enjoyed working on it. Over the summer I haven't knit anything because of lack of time. Now it's fall and I have the itch to start knitting again. I also want a project to take to Door County with me.     I know that I said I wanted to knit a pair of socks, but I'm not sure now. I'd have to teach myself how to knit using a magic loop. I'm sure I could figure it out, but I'd  really like to do something easy and relaxing like that blanket was.     One project I was going to do is to crochet all the granny squares I have together to make a nice little blanket for Willow. It would be fun and relaxing, but it would be hard to take all those granny squares to Door County with me. The same is true for the sample blanket that I want to start. (although I could take a few small balls of yarn along and some stitch patterns to m
Read more