MOST people are familiar with the memorable images of the
Coronation on 2 June 1953. The procession; the crowds; the Queen of
Tonga, braving the rain in an open carriage; neighbours gathered
round their newly bought television sets; the solemn ceremony in
Westminster Abbey - all these are now part of collective memory.
But one small, and little-known incident, is worth recalling.
A few years ago, rummaging through the archives at the
publishers SPCK, I came across a reference to a small booklet:
For the Queen. A Little Book of Private Devotions in
Preparation for Her Majesty's Coronation, to be Used from First of
May to Second of June, 1953.
There was no mention of author, or publisher, and (long before
ISBNs) none of the usual signs of publication - not even, as I
recall, the familiar copyright notice.
Intrigued, I wanted to see a copy. SPCK did not have one, but
the British Library did. It was 76 pages long, and bound in
leather. For a few hours, I was able to examine it, and take one or
two photocopies.
Further research revealed that it was personally prepared, and
presented to the Queen, by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
Geoffrey Fisher. SPCK printed it, but only "For Private
Circulation". There was no indication of the print run, but Lambeth
Palace, the Bodleian, and Cambridge University Press hold
copies.
It consists of daily meditations on each step of the Coronation
Day, beginning on 1 May with "The Way to the Abbey", and concluding
on Coronation Day with "Morning and Evening Prayer". In four weeks,
it combs through every detail of the Coronation service, distilling
the essence of what it would mean for Elizabeth II, and the
nation.
WE HAVE no evidence whether the Queen used the book. None the
less, written as if spoken by the monarch herself, it provides a
fascinating link to her preparation for the big day.
The first weekend (May 1-3) invites her to reflect on "The Way
to the Abbey" and "The Procession through the Abbey":
Here in the Abbey, as nowhere else, is expressed the unity of
the history of our people through the ages. Here will surround me
representatives of the whole nation and Commonwealth, bearers in
this age of our faith and our traditions. This building through
which I proceed, so magnificent and made so magnifical for this
occasion, is above all the House of God where his people can find
in Christian Faith the national unity of which the Psalmist spoke
(Psalm 122) and can express that unity in prayer and worship and
sacramental act. It is that I may serve the unity and peace of my
peoples, that I come now into God's house and into his
presence.
Week One (May 4-9) rehearses the "Foundations of the Monarchy".
First comes "The Recognition by the People", a pertinent reminder
of the relationship between Crown and people, beginning with
Matthew 5. 14-16: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put
it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto
all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glnoryify your Father which is in
heaven." This was followed by:
This people is set to be a bulwark of freedom, a company of free
men and women, able to use their liberty, not "for a cloke of
maliciousness but as the servants of God". It is of their free
choice that I am accepted as their Queen; they receive me as "their
undoubted Queen" not that I may curb their freedom but that I may
be a leader and an example of how freedom is to be used in
accordance with the laws of God and to his glory. By my own
knowledge of those laws and obedience to them, I must fulfil my
trust to my peoples.
THERE are then four oaths: to the Commonwealth; to execute
justice and mercy; to preserve the laws of God, and the true
profession of the gospel: and to maintain the Church of England. .
.
. . . which holds my allegiance, has a great heritage and a
great trust. . . As Defender of the Faith, I am called by God to
forward, so much as in me lies, the Church of England in its work
of preaching the Gospel and building the Church, which is the Body
of Christ.
This section concludes with "The Giving of the Bible", sealing
"This Covenant between myself and my people".
Week Two (May 10-16) takes the Queen through the consecration.
Because the consecration is, at heart, a service of holy communion,
each element of the service is afforded its own day: the collect
for purity; the collect, epistle, and Gospel; the creed; Veni,
Creator Spiritus; the anointing (Ascension Day); the blessing;
and the clothing.
Week Three (May 17-23) focuses on the Ensigns of Royalty. These
include the Spurs and the Sword, the Armills, the Stole Royal and
the Robe Royal, Orb and Sceptre, Ring and Rod, the Crowning, the
Benediction of Queen and People, and the Inthroning.
Week Four (May 24-31) brings us to the holy communion. Between
the oblation on Whit Sunday and the Gloria in Excelsis on Trinity
Sunday, we have the Prayer for the Church; the invitation,
confession, and absolution; the Sanctus; the consecration of the
elements; and the communion, with one day set aside for the
blessing of the Duke of Edinburgh.
The blessing of Prince Philip opens up a vista much wider than
its title might suggest. In reality, it is an acknowledgement of
the part played by her family, past, present and to come. Ruth
4.14-15 is used as a reminder of the value of "a near kinsman",
followed by a quotation on friendship from the 17th-century
Anglican divine Jeremy Taylor:
By friendship I mean the greatest love and the greatest
usefulness, and the most open communication and the noblest
sacrifice, and the most exemplary faithfulness and the severest
truth, and the heartiest counsel and the greatest union of mind, of
which brave men and women are capable.
It concludes with the prayer:
Praise be to thee, O God,
for my family,
for the memory of my father,
for my mother and sister,
and for all others dear to me.
Praise be to thee, O God,
for my husband,
and my children,
and my home.
MONDAY 1 June was set aside as a day to reflect on "The Peace of
God", and on the morning of 2 June, the day of the Coronation, the
Queen was offered four brief sentences of prayer:
Lord, thou hast brought me to this hour. Sustain me in it with
thy power and thy peace. Amen.
Lord, thou knowest how busy I must be today - if I forget thee
do not thou forget me. Amen.
Go into his courts with thanksgiving and into his gates with
praise.
I will go unto the altar of God: even unto the God of my joy and
gladness.
If, by the end of the day she was not utterly exhausted, she was
offered three verses from the Psalms (31.23; 146.1; and 115.1) and
(as she put her head on the pillow) she might say:
Lord, thou hast been gracious unto thy servant. Thou hast filled
my cup with thy goodness to overflowing. With a humble spirit and a
thankful heart, I commit myself to thy care and will lay me down in
peace and take my rest. Amen.
Whether the Queen remembers it all - and whether she actually
used it - we do not know. But now, as I look back, Dr Fisher's
legacy seems a fair reflection of Britain, and of the way the
nation saw itself, 60 years ago. Were the Queen to look back, she,
too, might feel a certain satisfaction with the way she has kept
the faith, even if, to some extent, she has been instrumental in
enabling her own prayers to be answered.
In today's terms, some might even feel that it reflects a
measure of what it means to be "British". In 1953, a song, "Let's
All Be Good Elizabethans", was popular, prompting today the
question whether we have been, or are, or have yet to begin. Few
will want to complain about the lead that we have been
given.
Sunday 3 May
That last moment between arriving at the Altar and
the beginning of the Service proper.
For a short space, I shall be able to withdraw into the secrecy
of my own heart, kneeling quietly before God in simplicity and
humility, waiting for what shall be. It will be difficult then to
concentrate thoughts and emotions into words and sentences. The
simplest words of trust in God and of trusting oneself to God will
be best.
Saturday May 9
The Giving of the Bible
THIS covenant between myself and my people is concluded and
sealed by the giving of the Bible. The Bible is called "the Word of
God" because it is the record, made by inspired men, of the Word
which has been spoken by God to man first through his people
Israel, then through Jesus Christ the Son of God, "the Word made
flesh", and up to this day through the Holy Spirit in the Church.
Because it reveals God, it is given as "the most valuable thing
that this world affords".
It is given to me to keep me "ever mindful of the Law and the
Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of
Christian Princes" - and of Christian Nations no less. On the Bible
and on the Word of God, the compact between my people and myself
rests and is ratified by God. On these foundations, truly laid,
rests the high office to which now I am to be consecrated.
Monday 25 May
The Blessing of the Duke of Edinburgh
Lord, thou dost not wish thy children to be alone. Thou wilt
provide for us the companionship, the joyfulness and the peace of a
home to be our comfort and our strength. And, abiding in our home
with us, thou dost cause these things to be.
Lord, be thou my strength, and my husband's, and let us, united
in thy faith and fear, help one another to fulfil the ceaseless
duties of our calling, faithfully and well.
Lord, help us to find in our home and children a constant
refreshment of spirit and renewal of grace.
Into thy hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves. Be with us in our
going out and our coming in. Strengthen us for the work which thou
hast given us to do. Defend us with thy heavenly grace, that we may
continue thine for ever and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more
and more, until we come to thy everlasting Kingdom; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.