The difference between republics and constitutional monarchies has become startlingly obvious in the weeks following the death of our beloved Queen. In Elizabeth II we possessed a Head of State who was no political has-been, as is so common in the countries of Europe, but someone who from the very start of her reign pledged herself to serve Great Britain and the Commonwealth throughout her life, whether it should be long or short.
She made this momentous promise in Nairobi in 1952 and reaffirmed it before a worldwide television audience at her Coronation in June, 1953, but this time she enshrined it within a service of prayer, anointing and crowning and all the visual aids that accompany this ancient Christian rite. She made this pledge before the British nation and Commonwealth, but far more importantly, before Almighty God Himself. She never forgot the seriousness of those promises and testified to the Grace of God and her relationship with Jesus Christ in her many Christmas broadcasts, especially in more recent years. And until her most recent infirmity, she never missed church, either at Windsor, Balmoral or Sandringham.
We look in vain for a similar Christian context in the inauguration of the many republican presidents around the world. The closest that we can get is the “In God we Trust” of the United States of America, but the significance of this call is somewhat diminished by this sacred text being imprinted upon every dollar bill!
With Charles III upon the throne, it seems that we cannot expect to see Elizabeth’s unequivocal Christian convictions so prominently on display. The new King was apparently prepared for Confirmation by none other than the late, lamented John Stott of All Souls, Langham Place, but since those youthful days he has come under the influence of many other philosophies and religions, and in his own words, he now wishes to be a “Defender of Faiths”, rather than “Defender of the Faith” - the faith of the Church of England, of which he is now the Supreme Governor. His first public engagement after his succession was to meet all of Britain’s faith leaders, from Anglican archbishops, Presbyterian moderators and Charismatic leaders to Islamic imams, Jewish rabbis and Hindu swamis, and assure them of his goodwill to them all. He may well find that when it comes to his Coronation ceremony, against his natural Anglican instincts, he may well have to edit out some of the more solid Christian content and replace it with more “inclusive” words and phrases. We sincerely hope and pray he will not!
All this means that we should redouble our regular prayers for the Lord to grant our new King His Holy Spirit, so that he discharges his huge responsibilities with godly wisdom and care in a world fraught with dangers, confusion, doubt and errors. Now is the time for our churches to revisit the prayers for the Monarch and the Royal Family, which have for so long been unheard among the very people who enthusiastically profess to pray for their country regularly, and therefore should have known better. Both these state prayers are there in BCP2020. Use them! And what else can we possibly pray - God save the King!!
