The Coronation and Us

Carole Burke

I was 14 at the last coronation. My family and I went to London to stay with my aunt and uncle and cousins. They had a television and we had quite a long holiday for the Coronation. For weeks we had been hearing about all the arrangements, and my brother and I were so excited to be in London, even if we were not invited to the palace. We children were in sleeping bags because we were in a 3 1/2 apartment! We could hear the rain tapping on the windows. It poured but nobody cared. People camped out for days for a glimpse of the Queen.

On coronation morning we learned that Hillary and Tensing had reached the top of Mount Everest! Then we settled down to watch. I was in awe of the processions, the choirs, the bands and the ceremony itself. After the Queen was crowned, all the princes and dukes had to swear allegiance to her starting with Prince Philip. Before the annointing, she took off her robes and all the regalia and put on a simple white dress over her heautiful dress.

Broadcasting major events was very new and people were literally up in trees! When the Mounties came down the Mall, the Canadian commentator who lived in England almost fell out of his perch with excitement. There were fireworks with set pieces. Remember: I was a just prewar baby. I had never seen anything like it! In the next few days our parents took us into downtown London to see the sights. I will never forget it. As it turned out the cousin we stayed with ended up in Ottawa with her family. We speak at least once a week and visit. So this morning I told her what I was doing and we suddenly became two awestruck little girls remembering. What we could not remember was what we ate that day! Our mothers must have fed us!

A few months after the Coronation I was reading something about scripture and I made this amazing discovery! Zadok was our Zadok. My religious knowledge was not fully developed and I assumed a priest was either Catholic or Protestant!

On May 6, 2023, King Charles III will be crowned in a ceremony which dates back to 937AD. After the Norman Conquest, William I chose to be crowned in Westminster Abbey to indicate that he was the lawful heir to Edward the Confessor. It is a Christian ceremony. Charles III is the defender of the faith (Anglican) and must take the Coronation Oath to guarantee that. Nonetheless, there are traces of Judaism in the ceremony itself.

Since the coronation of Charles I, monarchs have entered the Abbey to the words of Psalm 122: “I was glad when they said unto me we will go into the House of the Lord”. Music composed by Sir Hubert Parry for the coronation of Edward VII is used.

The monarch, seated on the Coronation Chair, is annointed with holy oil. A canopy is brought to keep this most sacred ceremony private. During the ceremony the choir sings the anthem “Zadok the Priest”. While the words date back to 937AD, in 1727 George II chose George Frederick Handel to compose the version which has been heard since.

1KINGS 1 34-45

“Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet annointed King Solomon and all the people rejoiced and said GOD SAVE THE KING! LONG LIVE THE KING! GOD SAVE THE KING! MAY THE KING LIVE FOREVER! AMEN HALLELUYA.”

When the Queen left the Abbey on June 2, 1953 the congregation sang a hymn which began: “All people who on earth do dwell sing to the Lord with cheerful voice!” The hymn is called the Old Hundredth. It is based on Psalm 100 which we say almost every day at Shacharit.

As we remember with love Queen Elizabeth II, let us welcome with love King Charles III.

GOD SAVE THE KING!