Will you or won’t you? There didn’t seem to be much scope in the heroically inclusive Coronation service to divide the nation but the amiable Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has somehow managed it. His invitation — and the rubrics in the service make that clear — to everyone, including those watching on television, to join in the Homage to the King has managed to drive a wedge between those who will and those who wonder what planet all this is on. It goes like this:
“I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.” Once, this oath was the prerogative of royal dukes and peers in strict order of seniority. Now everyone’s invited to join what the Archbishop optimistically calls “a chorus of millions of voices enabled for the first time in history to participate in this solemn and joyful moment”. The chorus so far hasn’t quite been what he had in mind.
Still, the service, now available online should you wish to join in, is a remarkable feat: something for everyone. Something old, something new, something borrowed, and lots for the ladies. In an heroic effort at gender inclusivity, a Lady of the Thistle and a Lady of the Garter (Baroness Amos) take the lead in The Recognition, or presentation of the King for homage and service. Penny Mordaunt takes centre stage briefly.
The reading from St Paul to the Colossians, a stirring passage and an affirmation of the Trinity, is by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is a Hindu.
Then there’s the Archbishop’s own special addition to the service, in which the King is invited to join the church “to foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely”, which is weirdly ungrammatical but very inclusive.
And then there’s the traditional element: an oath to uphold the Protestant succession which is specifically designed to get up the noses of Catholics. Speaking as one, I don’t care.
It would take a hard heart not to rejoice in the presentation of Regalia, including a jewelled Sword and the Spurs of Charles II (let’s hope he doesn’t have the same reason to need them), by peers of other faiths.
If the nation is divided into roundheads and cavaliers, this service is one for the romantic royalists.
