Liturgical resources on the death of HM The Queen
The Church of England has made available a number of resources for churches and schools to remember Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. These include:
- Guidance for parish churches on the death of HM The Queen
- Guidance for Prayer and Worship
- Prayers for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer
- Service of Prayer and Reflection
- Special Commemorative Service
- Holy Communion during the period of mourning
There are further resources for collective worship and other activities in schools.
Gracious God,
we give thanks
for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth,
for her faith and her dedication to duty.
Bless our nation as we mourn her death
and may her example continue to inspire us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
I was privileged, at St. Michael and All Angels church in Christchurch, New Zealand, today, to preside at a small congregation for Mass – at which we remembered our gracious and faith-full Queen Elizabeth II. May she Rest in Peace and Rise with Christ.
Amen
I was interested in the mention of St Michael and All Angels Christchurch. In a post I put on TA about a year ago I wrote: ‘New Zealanders to have attained high office in the Church of England include a Dean of St. Paul’s, an Archdeacon of Middlesex and a Superior of CR Mirfield.’ The Archdeacon of Middlesex referred to was Timothy Raphael, who had been Vicar of St Michael and All Angels Christchurch for part of the 1960s. The Superior of CR Mirfield referred to was Fr Silvanus Berry, legal name Graham Berry. Timothy and Graham were teachers together… Read more »
Now that an Antipodean element has been introduced into this thread it is appropriate to note that the organist at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey was an Australian, Sir William McKie. He was also the organist at the Abbey at the time of her marriage to Philip in 1947. His brother John McKie was an assistant bishop successively in Melbourne and in Coventry. Both brothers were present at the consecration of Coventry Cathedral in 1962, William as one of the guest organists (the other was John Dykes Bower) and John as the assistant bishop.
McKie was responsible for the arrangement and harmonisation of ‘Crimond’ sung at the late Queen’s wedding in 1947. I believe the Queen, and in a sense he, effectively introduced it from Scotland to England, and thus an additional link for its inclusion in the St Paul’s service. I attended a family funeral only today when it was sung in his arrangement.
As a very young child I was taken to London for the Queen’s wedding. The crowds were enormous, and I have this memory of a tiny white dot, her wedding dress, on the far-distant balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Thank you Rowland. William and John McKie had three sisters, Margot, Mollie and Ruth. It is recorded in
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/media/5251/elizabeth-ii-coronation-1953-musicians.pdf
that one of the Stewards at the Coronation Service in 1953 was a Miss M.E. McKie. One naturally wonders whether that is either Margot or Mollie. One or other might have been a Dominion Representative amongst the Stewards.
That document is utterly fascinating! The orchestra was a “who’s who” of the best of the musical world of the time, many of the names still remembered, as also from the considerable choral forces, some still with us. Picking out just one, Martin Neary sang as a Child of the Chapel Royal, and later was to become the Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey, notably in charge of the music at the funeral of Princess Diana.
Thank you. The document also gives the name of Rev H.C. Hollis as one of the ‘additional basses’. He too was Australian, and was ordained in Melbourne. At the time of the Coronation he was a Minor Canon of Westminster Abbey. He was to publish a biography of Sir William McKie in the early 1990s.
If I am correct in my conjecture that Miss M.E. McKie was a sister of Sir William McKie, that is one of two examples of sibling participation in the 1953 Coronation. The medical practitioner on hand inside the Abbey during the service was Dr Wilfred Dykes Bower, brother of Dr John Dykes Bower who was of course playing a major role in the music. St John Ambulance did a heroic job in responding to emergencies outside the Abbey. Another brother, Stephen Dykes Bower, was Surveyor of the Fabric at Westminster Abbey at the time of the Coronation. I am unaware… Read more »
I noted those names and, indeed, quite a number of others still well known today in the church and church music world. I recall John Dykes Bower, later knighted, as organist of St Paul’s Cathedral. As you say, Stephen Dykes Bower did distinguished work in Westminster Abbey (and much elsewhere) including in particular the restoration of the Abbey’s double organ cases, in their magnificence, I suggest, unsurpassed anywhere else in the UK.
Dr Wilfred Dykes Bower had a medical practice in South Kensington.
Another Australian connection, though certainly a little tenuous, is that Christopher Dearnley, who succeeded John Dykes Bower as organist at St Paul’s, went to live in Australia when he retired in 1990. He died there in 2000. He took a number of locum appointments in Australia, the first of which was at Christ Church St Laurence (CCSL), a church which keeps featuring in my posts on TA. I met Christopher Dearnley very briefly then.
I hope we aren’t trying the patience of other TA readers. I remember Christopher Dearnley at Salisbury Cathedral and later at St Paul’s. I possess a CD of the final recording he made at St Paul’s before leaving for Australia. I know his sister in law, a concert pianist and a church organist. Coincidentally she, her sister (Christopher’s wife) and I share the same birth surname, although we are not closely related. It’s a small world.
Interesting, Rowland.
I will be adding “…and Commonwealth” after “Bless our nation…” when using the recommended thanksgiving prayer.
The first public stab at such a service was at St Pauls Cathedral.Televised too! After the fine and very moving audio address from our new king the service itself…which, Laus Deo, had been flung open to a wonderful cross section of people, including, no doubt, a large television audience, seemed grim. The music seemed in large part to be fine for musical loveies with a taste foe mid 20th Century choral music…sort of ecclesiastical white noise to some of us. I dread to think how it came over to the many in the congregation for whom worship may not have… Read more »
Rather like Diana’s funeral ( and Mountbatten’s) , the timing is a bit awkward. The Choir is only just back and as you say had only a day to rehearse. I suspect that they decided it was safer to stick to the pieces they knew best.
Mmmmm…..more charitable than I!
They would have plenty in their repertoire I am sure…a bit of Elgar, Holst…even Bach!!…and what they sang was hardly a walk in the park.
With the greatest respect, I’m not really clear why you are being so uncharitable. I’m sure all of the music was carefully chosen as appropriate to the occasion, and may well have reflected her late Majesty’s own known preferences – I’m sure that is so in the case of ‘Crimond’ as I have explained. Prince Phillip chose all of the liturgy and the music for his own funeral.
Not only ‘the pieces they knew best’ but, unlike Diana and, perhaps to a lesser extent Mountbatten, even the apparently spontaneous service (including the sermon?) at St Paul’s will have been ‘oven ready’ for some time, and the music already known to the choir. The only issue, as you say, is the ‘back from holiday’ one and, in the case of Andrew Tremlett, getting him authorised to lead the service before his own installation. Whatever the congregation made of it, the master-stroke here was making it an accessible ‘people’s service’ to whoever happened to be around at the time, in… Read more »
As I observe in my longer comment, some of the music had a direct connection or significance for her late Majesty. I’m quite sure that St Paul’s and other places have contingent planning for all kinds of national occasions. These are professional musicians! These comments, I’m sure unintentionally, are incredibly condescending. If there had only been a day to rehearse, that only adds to the praise due for the superlative results.
Presumably some of the choirboys have just started. I have no idea whether they are generally broken in gently or expected to sing the more challenging pieces from the get-go. It makes you realise how difficult planning the music for a Cathedral choir must be.
Struggling Anglican, “grim”? These are, of course, expressions of your own opinions, although at no point do you say so. The singing by the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral was of a superlative quality, and congratulations to Andrew Carwood its Director of Music. Outsiders have little idea of the complexities that building imposes on making music. I fear that you are correct that even many C of E ‘regulars’ wouldn’t know or appreciate the meaning of Nunc Dimittis, and might mentally ask what “and to be the glory of thy people Israel” is all about. That’s a sad reflection on… Read more »
We used to sing the Stanford Nunc Dimittis in G when I was a chorister – a really lovely piece of music. And very appropriate at this time.
Indeed, and I’m afraid some critics have rather missed the point and deep significance of its inclusion. ‘Organist speak’ alert: Stanford composed several settings of the evening canticles. The others conclude with triumphant spine-chilling climaxes during the ‘Gloria Patri’. The setting in G is quite different, reflective and utterly suitable for the occasion. It could not have been a better choice.
Stanford makes me think of school Speech Day services which to some of us were aversion therapy to the Christian Faith, which is of course a personal reflection.
55 years on a Stanford Te Deum brings on a curious pain!!!!!
I have since acquired some ‘inside information’ and, as expected, everything was carefully chosen, as Maud Colthwaite so eloquently says below, to achieve a worthy and reverent commemoration. That one individual seemingly did not like it is surely irrelevant, and hardly something to proclaim so loudly to everyone else. My final word as I think this ‘discussion’ would have been best omitted from TA in present times.
Pleading special knowledge is an intriguing ploy.
Obviously thought was given.
Reducing my experience to a solitary one is curious. I have had conversations with senior clergy and a member of the Royal Household who share a point of view similar to what I have expressed.
I would have hoped nevertheless that what was produced was less about the cathedral concert hall, ‘music that she might have liked’, or musicians who had been honoured and more a vehicle for the Ordinary People of God to offer their thanks to God and pray for the Queen in quietness and in confidence. Incidentally the Nunc was at least recognisable…and we could hear the words that were being sung. Thank God for Crimond and Flowers of the Forest on this occasion! Yes, those of us with a little knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes do realise that… Read more »
I’m not a ping pong player and I certainly consider that contentious discussion at the present time isn’t appropriate. I am a former amateur church musician. We can agree to disagree.
Judging by the reaction of the members of the congregation who were interviewed on TV, they seem to have been deeply moved by it. I’m not sure that it would have been possible to perform “vaguely accessible” music which was “more a vehicle for the Ordinary People of God”. What, pray, is that? If people aren’t generally accustomed to church services, they are no more likely to know, let alone sing along to, “Bind us together” than to Crimond. Pandering to the lowest common denominator in a quest for an elusive “accessibility” would have been cringeworthy in the extreme, and… Read more »
I think you would see that you are caricaturing what I was trying to say should you trouble to read my heartfelt observations. I made it quite clear that pandering to the lowest common denominator was not an option. Reductio ad absurdum is a questionable way of responding. All I want is for Aunty C of E to have sensitivity to those whom are invited and to make the message and purpose accessible. Your picture of accessibility merely mocks what I was attempting to say. Reverence does not require things to be churchy, grand and incomprehensible to a majority of… Read more »
“Those who are invited” or “those whom you invited.”
(“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” NKJV)
I’m in touch with a number of American Episcopalians on Twitter. Almost unanimously, their response to the service was ‘Wow!’
Well is that any surprise?
I’m not particularly good at British humour any more. Is this intended to be a joke, or a veiled put-down of Episcopalians? Sorry if I’m dense, but I genuinely can’t tell.
I have spent several years working with ECUSA in the US.
Affectionate humour is not a put-down
They are keen on bagpipes….even on St Georges day and are wont to put women pipers in sporrans too.
English humour does not cross the Atlantic very successfully…it seems , even to Canada this time.
In the US they tend to like Benny Hill though…Magnum Mysterium
The presence of the bagpiper would have caused many American Episcopalians to swoon in ecstasy!
Not this one.
Many but not all!! Indeed!!
From my encounters today – with scores of people – the cathedral style of worship has been a cathartic way of them dealing with emotion and grief (including reference to both the St Paul’s service, and services closer to home) – so, while there are other styles that will suit the needs of some, it must do something for some people (and in not insignificant numbers). In parish ministry I found that it was often the case that when the recently departed had a strong faith they also had strong ideas about what might be included in the service(s) that… Read more »
After 50 years of priesthood I understand what you say. Worship is de facto directed towards God. For funerals we have to cope with all sorts of requests….even words from Henry Scott Holland. This was not a funeral but a vehicle for the People of God to express their grief, love and emotions. The family of HMQ were not involved or present.etc etc I regularly worship in a cathedral and know how supportive it can be. However there are heffalump traps and being too grand can certainly be one. As we have seen the royal family being so sensitive and… Read more »
On your point about accessibility, it could have been remedied by the use of subtitles on the TV broadcast. The three hymns chosen were all reasonably well-known and surely meet the criterion of accessibility. But without an order of service to hand, it would have been helpful for viewers to be able to follow the words (though one is available on the cathedral’s website). The anthems were mostly set to passages from scripture, with one a beautiful setting of words by John Donne, who was Dean of St Paul’s. It’s difficult to see how they are in any way less… Read more »
Sir William Harris held several important musical posts, finally at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (where I had the privilege of meeting him and hearing him play all of 65 years ago). He taught music to the late Queen and Princess Margaret. Here was an obvious and personal direct link and, as you say, Donne’s words could not be more appropriate.
I utterly agree that subtitles would have made a great deal of difference. The Donne piece is sublime but lost without subtitles when sung with benefit of echoes!
So very good to find a point of agreement!
I watched the whole service with subtitles.
I don’t wish to detract from your appreciative remarks, but I’d like to comment on “The three hymns chosen were all reasonably well-known” since it’s relevant to a great deal of church life. I think it’s difficult for church regulars to grasp that there are now **no** hymns that are reasonably well known. How many state schools now have regular hymn singing? (This is a rhetorical question – I don’t want to start a “we do” chain.) The hymns chosen for weddings used to be All things BB, Lord of the dance, Sing hosanna, and one or two more, because… Read more »
Very wise comment Stanley. That is my experience too,
Yes, I agree. The first funeral I ever presided at, in a cathedral, the family’s request was for ‘Somewhere My Love’. The organist (Alan Horsey) and choir rose to the occasion magnificently. Then, and on many similar occasions since, I took the occasion to link a song which was meaningful to the family with the Christian message. I came to enjoy that challenge – even when the songs were as unlikely as Trekking Through the Universe and Bat Out of Hell! I’m frequently impatient with stuffy Anglican ceremonial, but I thought the St. Paul’s service was just right. It very… Read more »
I am reminded of the opening scenes in “The Big Chill”. In the funeral for the dead friend, Alex, the preacher announces the final musical selection as a “favorite” of the deceased–whereupon the organist strikes up a rendition of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.
Can I add my voice to support the arguments put forward by Stanley and Struggling Anglican. Perhaps it can be seen as a similar issue to the older debate over translating scripture or liturgy. Do we use the “sacred” language when reading the Bible within liturgy, or for the liturgy itself (whether Hebrew or Greek or Latin), or do we use a translation into the vernacular? It is now generally accepted that we should use the vernacular language. I think the problem is that we churchgoers are now unaware of how many people in the community are now unable to… Read more »
Concerning language read in church, NIV, NRSV, and such like are still not properly the vernacular – the word order and sentence structure remain stilted and archaic, and of course they are generally read in an expressionless “po-faced” voice. Scripture really came alive for me with Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Look at this coming Sunday’s Amos and Luke readings in that version. Put that in your smoke and pipe it! Quite marvellous.
Thank you Stanley, I agree.
Although just for clarity, by the language of liturgy I was referring not just to the specific words used within a service, whether prayer book or bible, but also the wider languages of symbol, metaphor, movement and activity.
“…the word order and sentence structure remain stilted and archaic, and of course they are generally read in an expressionless “po-faced” voice.”
Yet they needn’t be, need they? Perhaps it’s my background in theater, but when I read the scriptures in my parish, I treat them as I would a passage from a play or the narration of an audio book. Old Testament stories get the audio book treatment;psalms (or other poetic forms) are read like Shakespearean sonnets; epistles like monologues or soliloquies.
Absolutely! Mr/Mrs/Ms Reader hasn’t the confidence or training so to do. They think they’ll get into trouble with the liturgy police (often the organist). I’ve noted that they quite often walk to the lectern like Tony Curtis playing Josephine in Some like it hot. Yes, yes, I know my mind should be on higher things, but one has to get one’s jollies as best one can and anyway SLIH is truly a divine creation. The institutional church might be a gigantic clusterfxxx but church services can be an endless source of entertainment and amusement – for all the wrong reasons.… Read more »
‘po-faced’ was another one I had to look up—and I was born in England!
I’m not a historian of music and liturgy, but my wife is. The origins of church music came at a time of widespread illiteracy and music was/is a vehicle for the oral transmission of Scripture and belief. It doesn’t take special training to listen to and participate in music with text in the vernacular, as long as it’s acoustically possible to hear it (I heard John Elliot Gardner conduct Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in St. Paul’s, and it was a tsunami of beautiful but undecipherable sound). Hymns and participatory church music are designed to be easy, so really, the question is… Read more »
Jerusalem still seems quite popular. Having said that, the Vicar vetoed it at a funeral I attended last year. He was not popular with the person organising the service. Another clergyman insisted on having Morning has Broken at a funeral although the family didn’t want it.
If people understood Blake’s words they wouldn’t sing them. Socialist subversion. It always made me smile to see a collection of scrubbed Tobys and Jillindas belting them out. As to MHB – I forgot that sentimental claptrap. Nice tune though. (Churches don’t realise that MHB is not covered by the usual copyright licences. I await the first prosecution …)
The TEC hymnal has a setting for “Morning Has Broken” that is NOT Cat Stevens’ version. It is based on a traditional Gaelic melody.
The traditional tune for Morning Has Broken is Bunessan, which is Gaelic. Cat Stevens sang an arrangement of Bunessan. Is there another Gaelic tune which it’s sung to?
No, that’s the one.
I’m sure we are talking about one and the same: “Bunessan” in our hymn books. The TEC Hymnal is a fine collection; I have played from it in the US. It draws heavily on traditional hymns and tunes from this country, while our hymnals include ones adopted here from yours.
At Bristol Cathedral I was delighted when we sang “Were you there when they crucified my Lord,” an African American Spiritual. It was too slow but appreciated nonetheless.
The tune is called Bunessan, after a village on the Ross of Mull, where the writer was understandably inspired by a sunrise. It’s also a great stop for cyclists on the way to Iona…
On a personal level, I found the service very helpful in expressing my own sense of sadness – I was born the morning of her coronation – and loss. The detailed responses made by others reflect my own feelings, so all I will say is that the singing was lovely and the Bishop of London’s address lifted my heart to focus on our hope in Christ. Although I’m not a royalist in any way, I loved and respected Elisabeth Windsor as a fine Christian. I will miss her, but her example will long, I hope, remain in our hearts. Thank… Read more »
To have been born on Her Majesty’s coronation day must add considerable resonance to your experience. Your whole life has been measured out from that beginning, and it must feel quite strange not to continue the parallel journeys from that coronation day. I have similar feelings, having been born 3 weeks before the coronation myself. She has always just been my Queen. I was given a Crown that was issued to commemorate her crowning. Above all, as you quite rightly say, she was a good, decent, devoted Christian woman. There is indeed a loss for many in our communities and… Read more »
I was born two days before Palm Sunday in 1952, which I figure was 58 days into Queen Elizabeth’s reign. I probably had one or two teeth by the time of the Coronation.
Thankfully there are those thrilled with it all!
Why do we hate our choral tradition so much in of the CofE? Why was Howells so much of a problem? A seminal composer of Anglican music during the Queen’s reign and a man Her Majesty made a companion of honour. Why would Rutter or Lloyd Webber have been better? Because they are more popular? The music was beautiful and well chosen and I despair that there are so many in my church that can not see the quality of the diamond that they hold in their hands. The service as a whole was solemn and dignified. Of course I’m… Read more »
Sadly not in my 50’s but 70’s. Not at all of ‘evangelical bent’…rather the opposite! Certainly a lover of the choral tradition. You seem to know what music I would have liked. I ,for my own point of view would have chosen a Solemn Requiem Mass, ideally a setting by Wm Byrd with a burst of Purcell…and so on. Duruflé would have been wonderful! However that would not have been appropriate for this particular act of worship. The point is not what you or I would have liked but what would be an appropriate vehicle of worship etc for the… Read more »
You mentioned Rutter and Lloyd Webber there was no guess work required! “Surely there is appropriate music ( I do not mean “Shine, Jesus, Shine!”) which would have been vaguely accessible. John Rutter, Pie Iesu (Fauré or Lloyd Webber even) but Herbert Howells etc, not really.” The fact that you claim you like the choral tradition makes your viewpoint even more perplexing. Surely the choir of St Paul’s should be offering excellence to God as a memorial to our Queen, not just singing popular ditties as a nice accessible advert for the Church? I’m currently listening to the King’s Master… Read more »
There is appreciation of the choral tradition and there i cultural elitism.. I am not saying that displaying it in all its glory is ‘damaging the Church’. I am saying that if you design an act of worship you have to consider who the main constituents are. You clearly mix in different circles to the circles that I move in and I have heard volumes of negative comment about the music…and the construction of the service. I am no friend of Anglican musical elitism which ignores the congregation of a particular act of worship. Music is offered to the glory… Read more »
The circles I mix with are those of ordinary people worshipping in an ex-mining community in the East Midlands. Your insinuation (at least I assume that is what it is) that I am part of the cultural elite is misplaced. As is, in my opinion, your claim that your choice of music would have made the service in question “lift more souls to God”. That is your opinion only, not a fact. Musical ministry takes many forms, including that of the traditional cathedral style. All can be deeply uplifting to the souls of the faithful, all have their place, all… Read more »
“May her example continue to inspire us; …” may her memory be a blessing, and may peace be upon her soul. HRH Queen Elizabeth E*R II is dead. Long live HRH King Charles III ! from a citizen of a former colony across The Pond whose name is NOT Canada. When my dad and his sister, my aunt, fled Germany five months before WWII broke out, England became their refuge and sanctuary, my dad for a few months, when immigration officials deigned to let him into the USA. My aunt for the duration of the war where she learned habits… Read more »
Call me picky: it’s HM (His/Her Majesty), not HRH, for the Sovereign.
Not picky….correct!
Thank you for that moving tribute and recollection.
I don’t know how many Thinking Anglican readers are also bellringers, but ringing fully muffled is a first-in-a-lifetime privilege for almost all bellringers. Haunting and emotional.
Thank you, John, for that observation. Moving indeed, and I think ‘haunting’ was a well-chosen word. I live in a small village community. We are close and help each other. We have a medieval church, but only about 10 villagers attend it on a Sunday. Nevertheless, when the bell tolled at midday yesterday – a day of heavy showers and driving rain, a sombre day – the lengthy tolling resonated as it echoed round the village. It seemed to capture the mood of how people were feeling. Sometimes we can’t vocalise exactly why we are touched by an event like… Read more »
Yes, this editor of TA is a bellringer, indeed a tower captain who fitted the muffles last Thursday evening shortly after the announcement, and ready for ringing on the Friday lunchtime. It is, as you say, a privilege to make this contribution to the national mourning. We have had very many expressions of appreciation, and a short video clip that was made of us ringing has been viewed many thousands of times in the last few days. We had two ringers among us who said they had rung fully muffled before.
Pity the prayer is not in the thee and thou form which would perhaps have been more in keeping with her late Majesty’s preference.
It occurred to me when Her Majesty died that it was the day on which the birth of Mary is celebrated, 8th September. I was pleased when that point was made by the celebrant at a Communion service at Chester Cathedral this morning.
Father David said, ‘Pity the prayer is not in the thee and thou form which would perhaps have been more in keeping with her late Majesty’s preference.’
If you look at the liturgical resources you will see that at least one of the documents is entirely in traditional language.
My dear mother lives with Alzheimer’s disease and is heartbroken afresh each time the news reminds her of the late Queen’s death. That she ‘knows’ the Queen and is comforted by a BCP style collect giving thanks for her life and commending her to God is very moving for me as her son. The praise heaped upon the god fearing Elizabeth II is absolutely justified.
Given that lesser festivals already have liturgy in the Church of England for Charles I, King Oswald, King Edmund, Alfred the Great, Margaret of Scotland, and Edward the Confessor… perhaps, after a period of prayer and reflection, consideration might be given to remembrance of this Queen of 70 years who has been and continues to be an example of faith, steadfastness, and devotion to her calling.
Regarding Fr. David’s displeasure with a service in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II (may her memory be a blessing) that had a modern English liturgy (there is no reply button to respond directly): I am gladdeth it wath not in Ye Olde Englishe. I am by no means learned in the development of the English language nor of Biblical translation, but I’m assuming the KJV and the Book of Common Prayer were written in the proper language of that era. I’ve read that the works of William Shakespeare and the KJV, in fact, added new words to the English language.… Read more »
From Canada
“A national memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II will be held at St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario, after the official funeral in the United Kingdom and after the national civic commemorative ceremony in Canada. The service will be livestreamed on http://www.anglican.ca—please watch for a later announcement of the date and time.”
https://www.anglican.ca/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-1926-2022/30039937/
Let’s ponder if Anglicans are really ‘thinking’ Anglicans. Interesting piece courtesy of NBC news magazine written by Kehinde Andrews, professor of Black studies at Birmingham City University and author of “New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/queen-elizabeth-dead-charles-king-fox-news-wrong-rcna47060
I did not appreciate Kehinde’s article. It’s a little gauche and untimely to try to ‘poop on the party’ during a time of mourning. Maybe later.
I think we do need to hear these alternative voices. They’ve been hushed for too long already, and they have as much right to express their views as any monarchist has. The suppression of diversity leads not to unity, but to more division, alienation, and anger.
As a citizen of one of the 14 countries where the where the monarchy is currently head of state, I respectfully disagree with the ‘it’s too soon’ stance. The death of the Queen, whatever one’s personal feelings about the public persona of the person, shines a light on the complex legacy of colonialism and the future of the monarchy. Much of the press coverage has been maudlin, glossing over the issues of colonialism. Kehinde’s iconoclasm is a helpful corrective.
I thought the article was not punchy enough and did not go far enough. The oppression of much of the globe by English (largely) men schooled at posh fee-paying schools – with all the attitudes of condescension and faux superiority that that brings with it – is a scandal. It goes on – look at the last government. Look at Ireland, Wales, northern England (we suffered almost as much as Ireland), Scotland. Look at the global results of political partition and you’ll find that same caste thinking they know better than the natives – the caste that does anything to… Read more »
As a descendant of Highlanders, I’m not adverse to a king named Charles (smile).Perhaps he will be able to follow through on the more updated defender of faiths (plural) idea? Another whisky, Sláinte!
I was delighted to see Morris Men dancing outside the pub opposite All Saints Oakham, just after we finished our service to mark the Accession on Monday evening. Whether they planned to be there to mark the Accession in their own way I don’t know, but it was a sublime moment when traditions and quirks of English culture met: church, folklore and beer in close proximity. One over-refreshed man at the bar was quite weepy about the whole thing ‘This what makes me proud to be English’ and asked for a photo of the clergy with the Morris Men. A… Read more »
Stephen, having been to All Saints many times on visits to my mum, I can picture that scene vividly! I hope you’re all doing well at the parish church? My wife and I are tentatively planning a visit in the spring.
Would be lovely to see you Tim, church then pub? We have spare robes.
Thanks! Midweek Morning Prayer at the church followed by coffee at Caffé Nero has been my thing on the past few trips, but I expect Covid has made a few changes to the weekday schedule.
I remember the late Queen and Prince Phillip being mobbed and booed on a State visit to Canada, I think it was in Quebec, many years ago, of course. At the time Prince Philip said something on the lines “If you don’t want us, say so, and we will go”.
Currently the UK is officially in mourning and the majority of its citizens are observing that, so I think Susannah has very fairly said that this offering was not appropriate.
One of the purposes of national mourning rituals is to sustain a narrative and reinforce national myths. From that perspective counter narratives serve a critical function, especially when co-incident with officially sponsored protocols. It was interesting to watch the collision between the popular Lady Diana narrative and the official Royal Family narrative some years back. It is true that ultra-nationalist protests in Quebec are numbered among the protests that have occurred on various royal tours in various Commonwealth countries. The Kehinde Andrews piece is more insightful than a street protest. Canada is also observing an official ten day mourning protocol… Read more »
The short version is, Canada is also in an official period of mourning; but the complexities of the legacy of colonialism are part of the mix. Official national mourning protocols are intended in part to sustain a narrative about national myths. Thoughtful counter narratives like that by Kehinde Andrews coincident with official narratives provide a helpful and sobering juxtaposition.
Well, I’m sorry that we disagree on this topic, having had friendly exchanges on others. But I think you ought to concede the possibility of a legitimate alternative view, which was expressed in very moderate terms by Susannah and myself.
RW, I certainly respect the sentiment that informs your view, and Susannah’s as well, on timing. As I noted in reply to Susannah, I “respectfully” disagree. In fact, I think it may be less about simple disagreement and more about our respective contexts, you in the UK and me in Canada. The monarch is head of state here. The Queen’s death and the accession of Charles III are being marked across the country with the appropriate protocols. However, as a former colony/ ‘dominion’, there is a concurrent reality that is an unavoidable part of the national Canadian conversation. Hence, my… Read more »
Thanks for the link to the article, Rod – it raises important issues. I recognise the need to be respectful of many people’s feelings of loss, some of us may have a more complex range of emotions and questions.
If it was purely a time of mourning I would agree with you. But it is not simply a time of mourning. This is a time when our new monarch is going through all of the various complex processes of being declared King.
He seems perfectly able to find the time to travel to the various parts of the United Kingdom to affirm his rights. And if he thinks it appropriate amidst the mourning to engage with the succession process, I don’t see why we should not.
I agree. It seems it is also not disrespectful to let your staff know they may be made redundant while the service continues at St Giles. What is and is not respectful seems a little fluid.
Doesn’t it just!
I also note that the flags returned from half mast to full mast for 24 years hours to celebrate Charles’ accession, before returning to half mast to signify mourning for the Queen. So the signals are mixed
The service at St Paul’s was moving and uplifting in my opinion.. As a priest of some 59 years i was thrilled to see a congregation made up of so many young people. Thank you St Paul’s staff.
Fr John Emlyn
I think Andy Tremlett did a very good job at the service in St. Paul’s. It must have been very daunting, especially since it was his first service there. He looked as comfortable as if he’d been occupying that pulpit for years. And amid all the tradition, it was a nice touch that he was speaking from his iPad.
I think Andrew did a brilliant ‘job’. Having known him from my academic visits to Durham as well as when he was at St Margaret’s Westminster, I was convinced he was the right choice for St Paul’s. Praying for his future ministry.
We were at Wycliffe together, though we only overlapped by a year. I’m interested to watch his progress.
In some of these discussions, I am reminded of two sermons by elderly priests, both on the subject of liturgy. One, during an interregnum, gently chided us “for wanting our own way”. The other, a very forthright no-nonsense type, visiting from a neighbouring diocese, “We insult God with trivia”! Of course they were of a generation when according total respect to the death of the sovereign would have been unquestioned.
I think the Church of England, the Archbishops, and Parliament, and the Royal Family have played a blinder – and have all been on point. The right thing at the right time. It has been everything at its absolute best. My admiration all round for all who have played a part in this. For a few days I feel both proud to be Christian, British and Anglican.
I am sorry but I can’t share your views on this. I struggle to support an institution that presents an image of pomp and circumstance, whilst behind the curtain all is dysfunction and damage – at great cost to the people involved.
We need some honesty about what is going on with these institutions, whether the monarchy, the Church, or the Government, and not anaesthetise ourselves with pageantry.
https://twitter.com/daddyhope/status/1569080953368199176
So dont support it!
I didn’t say it was perfect – nothing and no-one is. I just think at this time – credit needs to be given where credit is due.
Interesting comment Simon. However, what you see depends on where you stand. Despite optical fibre ( or is it optical fiber?) the ocean of distance between former colonies and the modern UK crystalizes both commonalities and differences on the issues. From The Guardian to newspapers in the South Pacific, there is a torrent of articles currently about the future of the monarchy under King Charles. As a Canadian I ask myself, what would becoming a republic (like other Commonwealth Countries) accomplish? Two things. (1) We would likely just replace the Crown with some member of our domestic ‘elite’–a kind of… Read more »
Thanks Rod, You are right that context is everything, but I have some awareness of your particular context in Canada. Although personally I am based in the UK, one of my research interests is LGBT history and it’s relationship to Colonial history. I am very interested in how, across continents and across the centuries, many indigenous cultures which welcomed and valued their “queer” members underwent a process of cultural genocide during the colonial take-over, with a Christian, anti LGBTQ culture inserted into the cultural vacuum. You have alluded to this yourself in previous TA posts, within a Canadian context. One… Read more »
Your 2nd para is right on. Christian missionaries in the service of colonialism altered indigenous culture in many instances in favour of a binary mythology derived from a reading of the bible. The consequences of this endure for two-spirited youth in traditional communities. (see link). The arrest threats you reference, and which have been reported in the press, are very concerning. Colonialism is a very complex issue, as the Hebrew prophetic literature bundled under the title of ‘Ezekiel’ says, wheels within wheels. I am convinced that we have to work in reverse. Only when colonial impositions are undone will it… Read more »
Thanks again Rod, interesting questions. You have used two phrases that resonate with me. Firstly the question “Is it possible, do you suppose, to mourn for the Queen while being honest and prophetic as a church about the longer legacy of colonialism?” I can only go by what I read in media reports, but it seems that, abroad, it is possible to separate out sadness and mourning for the death of the actual person, Elizabeth Windsor, and to give thanks for her life, whilst questioning the ongoing future of the institutions that, as Queen, she was the figurehead of. Just… Read more »
Great chat, thanks! And than you for the links. I shall read them.
Important points, Simon and Rod. Perhaps there are added difficulties in the Church of England, in which disparities in power and status may largely be seen as divinely ordained, whatever the Gospels say and formerly colonised peoples (or communities vanquished in other ways) feel. Indeed I suspect that if, on the day of the coronation, I were to stand in central London with a placard bearing the words of Luke 1.52-53, I might be arrested and church leaders might join in the widespread disgust at such subversive notions!
Indeed. Part of the intrinsically censorial nature of organized religion in the service of power is not simply controlling the message, but controlling where and by whom the message may be proclaimed.
Am I being exceptionally dim? These are words from Magnificat, “The Song of Mary”, recited and sung every single day in churches throughout the world.
The Magnificat is indeed frequently recited or sung, yet the notion that it might have any relevance to the position of the mighty and rich in the present would appear to be seldom acknowledged in the Church of England.
Thanks! Exactly.
Archbishop Donald Coggan was himself an organist. In a talk on church music which he gave in the US whilst he was Archbishop of York, he said that the Magnificat is ‘the nearest thing in the New Testament to the “Red Flag”‘. I think that that meant that it was sung in a spirited way.
I suspect that his meaning was different! But, yet again, you have brought up another name. After being Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan retired with his wife to Winchester. He worshipped at St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, a tiny mediaeval church literally above one of the city’s ancient gates, King’s Gate, reached by a steep narrow staircase. Although that church doesn’t possess an organ, Donald Coggan became its organist! He accompanied services on piano, surely uniquely for a former Archbishop of Canterbury. His funeral was held in Winchester Cathedral, but he has a very simple memorial at St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, his initials carved into… Read more »
Occasionally when Coggan as a diocesan bishop was visiting a parish and he thought the music was particularly bad he would stop it and give the choir and congregation some musical tuition. He also disliked hymns the wording of which which was nonsensical, giving as an example ‘lusty confirmation candidates describing themselves as “frail and trembling sheep”‘. As a much worse example still he quoted the Coverdale version of Psalm 22:29, which says ‘all such as be fat upon earth have eaten and worshipped’. That was at a time when the 1662 BCP with its Coverdale Psalter was still dominant… Read more »
Thank you for that Rowland. I’ll look for those initials next time I’m there.
Queen Elizabeth seemed to follow the example of Mary in the Magnificat, when she announced her dedication to a life of public service, motivated by her faith, at the tender age of 21 during a visit to South Africa. Not seeking worldly power for herself, she was thrust into the role of Sovereign by an accident of birth and circumstances. Rather, power flows from us, the people, as expressed through our parliamentary system, and in the gradual process of decolonialisation she oversaw: the transition from empire to a Commonwealth of democratic nations who freely choose their head of state. Another… Read more »
And her own humility and Christian witness in choosing the hymn to be sung at her own funeral concluding with these words:
So be it, Lord; thy throne shall never,
like earth’s proud empires, pass away;
thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever,
till all thy creatures own thy sway.
A great example of The Myth of The Noble Savage. It’s almost two thousands years since Tacitus used it as a literary device to criticise the corruption and decadence of the Roman Empire by contrasting it with the liberty and independence of the Ancient Britons. He wasn’t writing an anthropological treatise on Iron Age Britannia, he was writing a political polemic about his own contemporaries. We’ve seen this more recently with the Myth of the Environmentally Friendly Savage, and now we see it in the Myth of the Queer Savage. It’s important to note that most of these assertions about… Read more »
Re: “objective reality”, as if history were done by people in lab coats. What we’ve learned from transcendental Thomists is that the only path toward objectivity leads through the subjective consciousness. That is why surfacing the assumptions behind the interpretation of data, testing ‘your truth’ against ‘my truth’ as it were, is problematic. Your comment is illustrative of the point. Despite being concealed by a user handle, the biases in your comment are somewhat revelatory. So even though I don’t know who you are, there is another sense in which I do know who you are. The political subjectivity in… Read more »
I’d be interested to know what your level of contact has been with actual indigenous people, Unreliable Narrator? You seem to be making confident statements about their cultures; I’d be curious about what personal experiences that’s based on?
Interesting responses here. Rod Gillis objects to my comment on the grounds that as a transcendental Thomist he doesn’t need evidence, because everything is subjective; whereas Tim Chesterton objects on the grounds that evidence is necessary for my position (but not his own?).
It should be clear that I’m not commenting, except in the broadest and most uncontroversial terms, on indigenous cultures, nor indeed on the cultural bias in the anthropology of the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries. I’m commenting on the abuse of anthropological language for the purpose of political polemics, for which the evidence is only too clear.
You might consider that if others with a background in neo-Thomistic philosophy read my comment they will likely recognize your misreading of the same fairly quickly. We live in a multi-disciplinary world. No one should be expected to be briefed in detail on everything. If you are unfamiliar with a subject be it Thomistic cognitional theory or Aboriginal culture, just fess up. Folks may be more willing to dialogue with you. What we are learning in post colonial Canada is that aboriginal peoples are empowered politically by a reevaluation of historical data ( evidence). This includes recognizing the nature of… Read more »
Unreliable Narrator. Thank you for your comments. You have said some interesting things. I agree with you that “There is of course no such thing as a single unitary indigenous culture constant across time and space. ” and “There is a huge variety in the forms of sexual conduct and expression in societies across the world: “ You are right to caution us to pay attention to each individual culture and not to impose monolithic understanding from outside. But if we are to be cautious we need to be consistent in applying that caution. I would argue that it does seem possible… Read more »
‘Unreliable Narrator’ says: ‘Tim Chesterton objects on the grounds that evidence is necessary for my position (but not his own?)’ A fair point. I am not myself indigenous, but I spent five years serving a parish in northeastern Saskatchewan that included two First Nations reserves – Red Earth and Shoal Lake First Nations (Cree or Nehiyaw), if you’d like to look them up. I then spent seven years as a minister in the Diocese of the Arctic, four of them in Aklavik and three in Ulukhaktok (Gwich’in and Inuinait); in Ulukhaktok I was required to learn to use an indigenous… Read more »
Some interesting points here too. Firstly, in response to Tim Chesterton’s question, I repeat that my comment was addressed not to the indigenous peoples of Canada or indeed anywhere else, but to the co-option of their cultures as fuel for a dispute being conducted largely among a Western intellectual elite — a dispute that proceeds by projecting modern Western progressive ideals onto cultures that are as different among themselves as they are from that progressive ideology. It is precisely this use, or rather abuse, of an already fictional characterisation of those cultures that I referred to in the case of… Read more »
Unreliable Narrator. Thank you for your comments. You have said some interesting things. I agree with you that “There is of course no such thing as a single unitary indigenous culture constant across time and space. ” and “There is a huge variety in the forms of sexual conduct and expression in societies across the world: “ You are right to caution us to pay attention to each individual culture, and not to carelessly impose monolithic understanding from outside. It should however be possible to argue for some level of common understanding of behaviours and activities across cultures, across continents… Read more »
As an example of indigenous cultures valuing their “queer” members, this is a report from Kamchatca (NE Russia) from about 1908 This is a good example of exactly the point I’m making. This is evidence for a certain social mechanism involving change of gender presentation from a male to a female role. It is described as being the result of pressure by a shaman, and the gender-changing person is then expected to become a shaman in turn. That’s not exactly what I call being “valued”, and the use of that word in this context is as much a value-laden judgement… Read more »
Unreliable Narrator, Thanks again for your post. I think at some stage we will have to agree to disagree, nevertheless I value the way that debating with people of opposing view sharpens my own thinking. I fully agree with you that such reports are complex and difficult to interpret, especially as so many of them have been written by outside observers from a Christian perspective. Many fewer reports exist citing the words and opinions of the indigenous peoples themselves. Also, so many of the interpretations cited in the analysis are from outside observers, and so few from within the actual… Read more »
I had intended letting this discussion come to its natural end, but just by chance this Guardian article provides a superb example of the type of activity I have been describing – members of indigenous cultures researching and promoting their own cultural history from before the colonial take-over. In this case the indigenous campaigners are women, not LGBTQ people, “surprised to find that the culture was matrilineal and sexually liberal.” https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/sep/22/kenyans-returning-to-precolonial-kikuyu-traditions-spirituality For information, the Kenyan Kikuyu people are probably better known as the Mau Mau, thus returning this long discussion to it’s origin in Queen Elizabeth’s death. Over the past… Read more »
Happy to resume this discussion. As I have stated multiple times, the point at issue is the misappropriation or misrepresentation of indigenous cultural practices by Western liberal commentators to make political points about their own culture and society. The Guardian article affords an excellent example of that. It airily describes the Kikuyu culture as “sexually liberal”, which is a value-judgement — and, as it happens, a rather questionable one. Traditional Kikuyu sexual culture was organised around procreation and the regulation of procreation by the regulation of sexual activity. It was certainly not a free-for-all: there were rules, as there almost… Read more »
Simon, “…indigenous cultures researching and promoting their own cultural history from before the colonial take-over.” Right on. It is important to focus on how Indigenous youth who identify as ‘two-spirit’ are engaging cultural reclamation within their own communities. It is also important to look at the research of Indigenous scholars on this matter. That requires research perseverance on the part of those of us who are not indigenous. We are fortunate to have indigenous studies programs here in Atlantic Canada. I am familiar with the Mi’makq group here. They are a significant constituency at Cape Breton University where I had… Read more »
The right to free speech that leads to disruptive conduct at a state funeral is akin to the right to free speech seen in shouting pro-City slogans at the United end of the stadium.
Deeply sad that even at this time there are members of our church who feel the need to bash choral music on TA. Even though this was something her majesty was fond of. The hatred for the church choir runs deep certain sections of our church.
Perhaps contributors may be aware that our late Queen was also a member of the Church of Scotland, although not the Head of the Church of Scotland. She regularly attended Church when in residence in Edinburgh or at Balmoral. She appreciated the chaplains who were members of the Royal Household of Scotland, providing appropriate services over the years. On Monday there was a service of thanksgiving and reflection at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh with wonderful words, prayers, readings, a homily and carefully chosen music sung by the Cathedral choir. It may be viewed through the BBC news iplayer site.… Read more »
That was, indeed, a wonderful service and a particularly fine memorial address by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. As always at St Giles’ Cathedral, the music and the congregational singing were splendid.
I was impressed by the sermon from the Archbishop of Armagh at the service in St Ann’s Belfast. I think it was the best.
I was suprised at the way , as a C of I bishop he blessed the congregation with the threefold action more usual in Catholic circles. I gather he has an unusual background ( Catholic Apostolic). At 64 perhaps out of the running for Canterbury.
Very much agree with you. The Ab of Armagh gave a very good sermon. The threefold action of the blessing, an added bonus. On another point, at Cardiff, was there any RC involvement at all, or was it made up for by the Cathedral Canons dressing up like RC bishops? Just asking.
I could have sworn that, amongst the large amount of liturgical guidance issued almost immediately after our late Queen’s death, was the statement that the correct liturgical colour for the whole period of mourning was purple, but I have not been able to find it subsequently. It has certainly not been observed at any of the services I have attended during the period. Was I dreaming that I saw it?
This morning I learned for the very first time a piece of very old news. When Agatha Christie published her novel ‘Curtain” in 1975, The New York Times actually published the obituary for Hercule Poirot on the front page (see link). This gave pause to a kind of Northrop Frye moment for me. Could the world of national protocols be as hypothetical as the world of fiction? I shan’t be attending nor tuning in to the memorial services here on Monday. For one thing, I’m traveling. However for those who do attend or tune in, I suggest there is a… Read more »
While we reflect on the passing of her late Majesty our Great Queen, I was watching a clip of King Charles taking his Accession Oath to defend the Protestant Religion and this makes me think immediately of the Coronation Oath he will take next year (unless it is radically altered to reflect the reality of our times) in which he will also promise to defend the Protestant Religion. In this age where Ecumenism and Inter-Faith Dialogue as well as inclusion for all the mainline churches, and was very much a fact of life for our late Queen and is a… Read more »
The monarch used to be required to abjure Catholicism on his or her accession. Edward VII felt very uncomfortable about it but was told he had to. I think the requirement was dropped for George V. It had always struck me as a wonderful typically English paradox that the Coronation Service in which the monarch swears to uphold Protestantism is organised by the man regarded as the leading RC layman. This is the Duke of Norfolk in his capacity as Earl Marshal. The current Organist is RC and was made a kCSG by St JPII when he left Westminster Cathedral.… Read more »
Ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue worked well during Elizabeth II’s reign, whilst she fulfilled her coronation oath. So I don’t think there is a tension. I doubt the King would have been allowed by his advisors to swear an accession oath that would be contradicted by his coronation oath. I’m sure all this has been considered and planned out. Any substantial changes to the monarch’s role within the constitution and in relation to the CofE would have been announced by now. In my context those who have commented on these issues are glad of the continuity the King seems to be… Read more »
Any change would require legislation to amend the Accession Declaration Act 1910. It’s not a personal option, although doubtless Parliament would listen to any suggestion or request for change, as it did for George V.
I ought to have added to this, possibly more relevant, that the Coronation Oath equally cannot be changed without parliamentary legislation. The Coronation oath is very much older, and fixed by the Coronation Oath Act 1688.
Fascinating and helpful. The coverage of and commentary surrounding the demise of the late Queen and the subsequent accession is revealing a lot about the nature of our constitution, things that have not seen the light of day for 70 years. The public has been allowed though TV and the internet to see more of the way the bits of the national jigsaw puzzle fit together: in particular church, state and crown. If this period of mourning/accession/coronation produces a kind of national unity, the question is how do we channel that goodwill and cohesion into something positive. It seems to… Read more »
Yes, it is indeed a moment to seize! You say: The public has been allowed though TV and the internet to see more of the way the bits of the national jigsaw puzzle fit together: in particular church, state and crown. To which I’d add the military. All four aspects were on display yesterday during the six-hour spectacle with its exquisite combination of beautifully choreographed liturgy, music and funeral procession. They were also symbolised by the Coronation Regalia – the Crown, Orb and Sceptre – when they were transferred to the high altar of St George’s Chapel as the Queen’s… Read more »
….especially as many members of the Church of England do not avow protestantism as the Church of England never protested the Confessions of Augsburg.
Even Holy Rome speaks at its most precise moments about Anglicans and Protestants. There is a real and historic difference.
Now perhaps. But not in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under Elizabeth and James the C of E was seen as part of the Reformed family of churches albeit with some peculiarities. It was only after 1662 (preceded by the Laudians) and more decisively since the Tractarians that the C of E distanced itself from continental Protestantism.
So today we offer final rites and prayers for the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen. I want to express gratitude for her decency and discreet judgment in a life of devotion, prayer and faith. It is easy to forget that behind the majesty of her position, she was a human being, and a good woman. My own life has been measured out along the course of her reign and, like many others in the UK, I feel thankful for her fidelity and good intent. Holy God, please comfort those close to her, families, servants, friends, and receive Elizabeth, our… Read more »
Whatever one might think about the appropriateness of the English monarchy – imperfect though it may seem to intending Republicans in the U.K. – one needs to consider what might crop up in the way of a Republic like that of Russia, or even America under Donald Trump. Both of these Heads of a Republic profess/ed the Christian Faith – Putin; that of the Russian Orthodox Church that supports his invasion of Ukraine; and Trump; that of Right-Wing Christians who want, by rank injustice, to ‘Make America Great Again’. At least, in the reign of Elizabeth II. the British Monarchy,… Read more »
Having watched on my laptop the coverage of the Funeral of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, with the Service of Committal at Windsor, I felt it was beautifully done, dignifed, bringing out some of the best elements of the Anglican Choral Tradition, and in readings the Sermon given and some of the prayers, the theme of the Resurrection and our Christian hope connected to this being very central. It was good to have that Beautiful prayer of commendation “Go forth O Christian Soul”, which was used at both my parents Funerals, and that beautiful prayer by John Donne “Bring us… Read more »
We are now truly into the reign of Charles III. I watched the services in London, Edinburgh and Windsor, all of them superbly appropriate to the occasion, and some of the ceremonial marches, etc. I thought that the committal service at St George’s Chapel Windsor was the most symbolic with the return of the crown and regalia which I can remember, watching on television, the young Queen receiving at her Coronation in 1953. I wonder whether Charles as King will opt, or be allowed, to have a simpler coronation this time, but all the signs from the last few days… Read more »
Does anyone know what actually happened at the funeral (in St George’s chapel)of George V1? I assume it would have been straight BCP (the next state funeral – Churchill – definitely was) but were Monday’s ceremonies like the removal of the regalia part of ‘tradition’ or were they invented for 2022? Were any hymns sung in 1952? The main surviving photograph that I have seen involves the royal party standing in the body of the choir facing the coffin and altar? An accompanying note says that the Queen sprinkled earth on the coffin as it was lowered, something that did… Read more »
I think most of the answers are here in this detailed Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_George_VI The principal difference in 1952 was that the funeral wholly took place in St George’s Chapel, and there was no service in Westminster Abbey. I imagine that the removal of the regalia and placing it on the High altar would have been exactly the same. I understand that it is returned to the Tower of London until the ensuing Coronation. One hymn is mentioned, the Easter hymn “The strife is o’er, the battle done”, with its relevant resurrection message. Members of other royal families and heads… Read more »
I could not help feeling Peter, that the mechanical catafalque from which the Queen’s Coffin was lifted into the vault is reminiscent of a certain Crematorium system of committal, where curtains are not closed before the Coffin is removed, but where in certain crematoriums, the coffin is mechanically removed from chapel in full view of the mourners, and where the coffin descends to a basement before it is removed from the catafalque and transferred to a charging trolley before being taken to the Cremator for cremation, a similar process I would surmise would have happened when the Royal Coffin was… Read more »
The Queen’s coffin has already been transferred from the Royal Vault beneath the Quire and interred in the separate King George VI Memorial Chapel which the late Queen commissioned in 1952 to be added to the structure of St George’s Chapel. It is said to be “in the style of Perpendicular Gothic architecture adapted to the 20th century”. It is quite small and contains the interments of George VI, the late Queen Mother, our late Queen and Prince Philip. Also there are the cremated ashes of Princess Margaret. Whereas the Royal Vault beneath the Quire is totally sealed, and cannot… Read more »