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High Spirits
God Saves the Queen
Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee is something to celebrate indeed.
“The Queen—God bless her!” These traditional words of what the English call the loyal toast will reverberate in every corner of the United Kingdom and in many parts of the Queen’s worldwide Commonwealth as her Diamond Jubilee is celebrated next month. The festivities will be spectacular in terms of pageantry and ceremony. But what will matter most to the Monarch herself will be the spiritual dimension at the heart of the celebrations.
Americans find it difficult to get their heads round the notion of Kingship. The idea that the British head of state should also be the head of the national church and “Defender of the Faith” (one of the Queen’s official titles) is a step too far for most citizens of the Great Republic. Yet to understand the concept of monarchy, it is important to appreciate the spirituality at the core of the institution.
Your columnist was nine years old when Princess Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1952. That event, and her crowning in Westminster Abbey later that year, enthralled my childhood imagination. The most mysterious and also the most solemn moment of the coronation service came when the Queen was concealed from public view by a silken canopy. Beneath its folds the presiding Archbishop of Canterbury anointed her with holy oil. This part of the ceremony has its origins in the anointing of King Solomon as described in the Old Testament.
The link between the Kings and Queens of England and the Kings of Ancient Israel goes further. The Old Testament describes how the Israelite monarchs led their people in prayer and swore to keep a sacred covenant with God. Even in the 21st century, Queen Elizabeth II fulfills similar historic functions. She leads her people with great dignity in all the important national services of commemoration, celebration, thanksgiving, or public grief. Her spiritual commitment to these acts of worship is real. The Queen is known to be dedicated to her religion. She takes her role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England with the utmost seriousness.
It was significant that her first major public engagement marking the 60th anniversary of her accession took place at a gathering of faith leaders in Lambeth Palace. There she spoke of Christianity being woven into the fabric of society and proclaimed that the Church of England, as the established Church, has the duty to protect all faiths.
For the Queen, the climax of the Diamond Jubilee will be the service of Thanksgiving on June 5 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. To a worldwide audience of well over a billion viewers, she will repeat the oath she swore at her coronation. This is a covenant binding God, people, and Monarch together in unity. For a country that has never had a written constitution, this royal oath is the nearest definition of the covenanted values of our nation.
There is a mysticism and a romanticism about monarchy that lifts the institution to heights that soar far above the day-to-day politics of 10 Downing Street or the Oval Office.
Some of this mysticism dates back to the age when Kingship was venerated as a sacred office. Since the legendary era of King Arthur and his knights of the round table, there has been a belief that monarchs rule through the grace of God. This has endured right through the Tudor, Stuart, and even Windsor dynasties. When the present Queen came to the throne, a poll suggested that one-third of her subjects believed her to have been chosen by God. The figure may be an anachronism, but the concept has not disappeared. The reason why Brits bow or curtsy to the Monarch is not just social deference, but also homage to her spiritual antecedents. Even our coins are stamped with the initials DG and FD—Deo Gratias and Fidei Defensor.
Inevitably, many will say that this is all myth and mumbo jumbo, or at best a rekindling of the folk religion that was once central but is now peripheral to a modern society. Yet even to agnostics who see no connection between God and Queen, it is generally conceded that monarchy has its virtues of constitutionality, practicality, and continuity.
Most constitutions have what Walter Bagehot called their dignified and efficient sides. The role of head of state does not always harmonize easily with the functions of head of government. Some U.S. Presidents manage to combine the two sides of the job with grace—Ronald Reagan was a stellar example of this. But those who climb to the top of the greasy pole, whether by the grinding treadmill of the primaries or by the wheeler-dealings of old-style Tammany Hall machinations, are usually just politicians, period. The majority of them don’t do dignity, let alone pageantry, all that well. They are also ephemeral figures serving for short periods. The length of a monarch’s reign is decided by a power higher than the electorate’s.
Through a mixture of history and religion, the British have found an attractive formula for dividing the power and the pageantry. The Queen has none of the former and all of the latter. She costs her subjects approximately $1 per head per year, which seems a good bargain considering everything she brings to the table, from constitutional stability to tourist revenue.
Her continuity of service is important too. The Queen is now on her 12th prime minister, from Winston Churchill to David Cameron. She never seems to put a foot wrong in her endless round of public duties. After 60 years of them, she is universally respected and often revered.
Retirement for the Queen is not an option. This is where spirituality re-enters the equation. British monarchs have no divine rights in the 21st century, but they still have to abide by the divine rules that demand a lifetime of obedience and service to God’s calling. The Queen will die on the throne as a reigning sovereign. She will not contemplate abdication, which was a horror story for the Windsors when it happened in 1936 and is never likely to be repeated.
So the Diamond Jubilee that is about to be celebrated will, by the very longevity of the Queen’s reign, highlight the sacredness of monarchy. The fact that the institution now has no temporal power emphasizes its invisible connection to spiritual power. This is the power to lead, unite, and inspire a nation by Godly example. The Queen’s impeccable character and her six decades of service are reminders of the religious idealism that still surrounds the Crown. When the British sing their national anthem, “God Save the Queen,” they will do so this summer with a special and spiritual fervor of thanksgiving to the God who has done just that for the past 60 years.
About the Author
Jonathan Aitken, The American Spectator’s High Spirits columnist, is most recently author of John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace (Crossway Books). His biographies include Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed (Doubleday) and Nixon: A Life, now available in a new paperback edition (Regnery).
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John786| 5.22.12 @ 6:23AM
In the ideal world I would always favour a republican government. However, Queeny is a good lass an all round good egg. In her quite ways she embodies the best of British values. Long may she rule if nothing else to keep big ears out.
Alan Brooks| 5.22.12 @ 5:07PM
One of the princes is even serving in Ashcanistan-- now THAT is dedication. No one can say the guy is a coward.
Appleby| 5.22.12 @ 7:22AM
Her Majesty is above all else a reminder of dignity and serenity in a world that has very little of either commodity left anywhere. Can anybody remember the days when a quiet reminder "There are Ladies Present" would quiet the rowdiest crowd?
Charles and Camilla are touring Canada at present; we had Will and Kate last year -- and people whose vocabularies and general outlook on life is heavy on blasphemy, obscenity and the race to the bottom are cleaning up, shutting up and lining up to catch a glimpse of a reality they had all but forgotten ever existed. And however fleeting that feeling may be, at least it is awakened and provides a glimpse into a world that was once upon a time not limited to the pigpen.
For some people this is all they have. But God Save the Queen, they have it.
FeFe| 5.22.12 @ 7:23AM
Yes, yes, her legacy is securely wrapped in kindness but she bequeaths not national sovereignty (that honor belongs to Brussels) nor a cultural moral compass (with a heretic as AofC), so pardon me if I'm a bit confused. As this theme park (as Spengler observes) of royalty holds out crowns for alms, should I toss euros or wreaths?
Le Cracquere| 5.22.12 @ 8:13AM
I believe I speak for the Anglosphere in toto in saying: God bless her, and may she outlive Chuck!
SSanderson| 5.22.12 @ 8:21AM
Hear, hear! As an American (and extreme Anglophile), I would like to join the Brits in raising a glass to her majesty; long may she reign! Have to admit, I loved her mum...
Herb| 5.22.12 @ 1:13PM
Maybe a word for Her Majesty's consort Prince Phillip is in order. He says the things, especially the politically incorrect things, which the Queen dare not say, on a variety of subjects.
That said, God save the Queen!
Mary| 5.22.12 @ 8:27AM
HRM is flesh and blood, keep it in perspective! Her true colors showed when HRH Princess of Wales died, okay?
Susan Benton| 5.22.12 @ 9:26AM
Yes her true colors did show. It was an unusual situation which she handled (belatedly by a few days) with great grace. Thank God Diana, Princess of Wales (she was no longer HRH) is gone - she was a major disaster for the crown and for everyone, just a self-absorbed airhead with a pretty face.
Cuffs| 5.22.12 @ 12:06PM
Thank you, Susan. Right you are.
Thank God that airhead is gone, she did nothing
but play into the boys on Fleet Street hammering
the monarchy. Camilla is a lovely and gracious
woman; she is indeed a wonderful addition to
the family!
Not impressed| 5.22.12 @ 3:02PM
You accidentally left off the sarc tag, right?
People who commit adultery aren't "lovely and gracious."
Camilla's first husband is said to have gone along with his wife's adultery with Charles. The British press called him "the man who laid down his wife for his country."
I don't care how many titles, jewels and estates they have. Trash is trash.
Derek Leaberry| 5.22.12 @ 8:41AM
I wonder how the Queen and Prince Philip ponder privately about the moral decline of Britain since her Coronation. In the mid-50s, the Queen would not allow her sister to marry a divorced man. By the 90s, three of her four children were divorced. In the 50s, homosexuality was a prosecutorial crime- actor John Gielgud was up on charges- in Britain. Today, the coalition government of David Cameron plans on legalizing homosexual marriage. As a young woman, the Queen would have listened to Vera Lynn on the radio. By the late 70s, the Sex Pistols crudely disparaged the Royal Family with their anthem "God Save the Queen." It has been a pretty long fall for Britain into the cultural abyss.
The Road Warrior| 5.22.12 @ 9:45AM
Yes, and that's pretty much true of all Western Civilization. The U.S. is not much better.
Quartermaster| 5.22.12 @ 7:00PM
No better.
Bob S| 5.22.12 @ 9:09AM
When we talk about separation of church and state, we really talk about the Church of England, and how English monarchs hundreds of years ago forbid practicing any denomination of Christianity besides Anglican, where the King or Queen held absolute rule.
What angers me is that we were not talking about forbidding religious displays in public, yet atheists have to throw a tantrum and sue left and right at the slightest display of religion in a public place.
Makes me want to say to them, "That's not what was meant by separation of church and state, MORON."
The Road Warrior| 5.22.12 @ 9:46AM
You are absolutely correct
Susan Benton| 5.22.12 @ 9:30AM
Britain has fallen - greatly, during her reign but it is largely because of the insanity of the left, the Labour Party, the shear stupidity of allowing everyone to vote (literate or not), and the relentless 'equality' which is also the downfall of America. Some of us have worked very hard to lift ourselves up (in every area) and become 'better', while others simply demand that they are treated as equal. It simply isn't so.
Mary| 5.22.12 @ 9:58AM
Susan Benton....dear, Diana was and will ALWAYS be HRH, with or without...she was royal miles above old Liz and Maggs. How can anyone admire a woman who married a man whose sisters were married to Nazis? The Nuremburg trials were still going on at the time of HRH's marriage to dotty Phil!
TrueBlue | 5.22.12 @ 11:26AM
Really shouldn't blame someone for what their siblings do. Other than voicing an opinion nobody has control of their sisters/brothers, heck even parents can only control their children so much after they are "adults."
Bob K.| 5.22.12 @ 2:45PM
Friends you can chose; relatives you are stuck with!
Gerry| 5.22.12 @ 10:00AM
It'a all myth and mumbo jumbo.
Tell me, what has Queenie done to keep any semblance of Christianity in the Church of England?
Ken (Old Texican)| 5.22.12 @ 10:35AM
Gerry,
I suspect she prays a lot.
KyMouse| 5.22.12 @ 10:51AM
The "spiritual" side of the English monarchy has been taken to absurd heights by some. While browsing in a Manx junk store, I found a booklet published by a "British-Israel" religious group; the booklet was my introduction to the belief that Jews are descended only from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but the British (or Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples of western Europe) are the TRUE House of Israel. The chosen people. The chosen race.
And that Britain's royal family are direct descendants of King David. Queen Victoria is said to have been a firm believer.
Oy vey.
Petronius| 5.22.12 @ 12:25PM
I was told by my grandfather that his grandfather served a Royal House. Would that I could prove that.
Most people can get their arms around monarchy in the sense of the "absolute" as they would love to wield total power over all and everything. Think again. King or dictator, reality bites. So does popular acceptance. Charles I learned that a little late. And He did violate His Coronation Oath to uphold the English Common Law and Magna Carta, which is now in as many shreds as our Constitution.
"A King is Not an all powerful Sovereign. A King is a man given duties, to govern." These words are part of the coronation oath in the SCA. Pretentious as it is, that clause is Real.
Her Majesty, Elizabeth II gets it, lives it, and reflects it. She does not wear the Crown. It wears Her. The Crown is in many ways like the Cross. The Two go together.
St. Eislin pray for us.
Quartermaster| 5.22.12 @ 7:04PM
Petronius, if that were the case, the UK would not be nearly as far down the road to Hell as they are. She really has not governed at all. Nor has she prevented the ascendancy of heresy in the Church. She has been pretty passive on nearly all fronts.
KyMouse| 5.22.12 @ 1:11PM
I wish Queen Elizabeth a happy Diamond Jubilee, but I thank God and my Revolutionary War ancestor (Goolsby Childers) that I am a citizen, not a subject.
Unlike many Americans, I don't ache for the opportunity to bow or curtsey, or touch my forelock, in front of any queen or king.
sotto voce| 5.22.12 @ 6:35PM
I thoroughly agree that being a citizen is much better than being a subject.
I, too, owe thanks to my Revolutionary War ancestor, the hapless General Burgoyne, who surrendered his men to American troops, ruining his military career but contributing to the ultimate victory of the Americans. My maternal relatives remained British subjects until my intrepid mother married my father and came to America as a war bride. I'm a proud American citizen but still retain a fondness for the Brits. It's good to remember that if it weren't for British subjects chafing against the Monarchy and demanding religious and political freedom the great American story might not have come to pass.
Peppermint Tea| 5.22.12 @ 1:17PM
I hated it when Freddie Mercury named his rock band after her.
Derek Leaberry| 5.22.12 @ 2:40PM
And I thought he named it after himself.
SF_Exile| 5.22.12 @ 4:02PM
The history of the British Monarchy has always been a quirky interest of mine. The throne has been inhabited by a veritable rogue's gallery of figures, right from the beginning. Among these rogues, two particular women stand out for me, and for whom I have a great amount of admiration and respect.
The first was Matilda, daughter of Henry I and mother of the Plantagenet line. The second was Eleanor of Aquitaine. Both had a healthy political acumen and were strong-willed. (Although it could be argued that Matilda's persistence in pursuing the throne for herself cost England dearly.) I believe they both had a deep faith which sustained them in bleak times.
Her Majesty Elizabeth II has been a rogue herself, but in a more quiet way. She has remained steadfast, dignified and regal. I'm sure her faith has been a comfort to her, and a bulwark. She, like these two women before her, understood her role in life. In a word, duty. Duty in the sense of being trained up and prepared to face that which would be demanded of her, and having the strength to take it on fully.
Norman Kachelhoffer| 5.22.12 @ 4:29PM
The author should get his 'facts' straight: the Queen succeeded to the throne in 1952, but was crowned in 1953.
Byron Keith| 5.22.12 @ 6:36PM
To be anglophilic is one thing, and I enjoy a good episode of "Pratfalls of the Rich And Royal" as much as the next guy. But if you want to see monarchy done properly, look to the Spanish Borbons. Juan Carlos and Sofia always keep sight of the fact that they exist to be the focus and embodiment of national pride, and they do it well. But more than this, they have (apparently, to date) raised succeeding generations who are equally aware of and prepared for this duty. No one in Spain is wishing that the crown would bypass Infante Felipe.
Richard Baker| 5.22.12 @ 7:30PM
I was born in 1952 and she's still on the throne. Amazing. Many more years to her because I believe that when she's gone Bonnie Prince Charlie will be the end of the English monarchy.
Carl Gordon Pyper| 5.23.12 @ 12:25AM
Thank you, J.A., for the memories and insights. I was also nine years old, and in the second grade at Encanto School in Phoenix when Princess Elizabeth became Elizabeth II. There was lots of talk at school ... I remember teachers referring to the English as "... a very God-fearing people." 'Didn't know what "God-fearing" meant, but "got the drift" from the "spirit" in which the words were spoken. My own mother spoke with admiration, respect, and wonderment, in regard to all young Elizabeth would have to sense and know in order to be Queen.
Paul and Susan Williams, my best friends, lived next door. Theirs was one of two or three Episcopalian mixed in our neighborhood with Presbyterian, Christian (Disciples), LDS, Catholic, and Jewish families. Mrs. Williams was of the "Anglican Wing" of the Episcopalians; an Anglophile, by way family traditions and home decor, who observed the seasons of the Church Year.
An official full-color, actual-sounds, movie of The Coronation and immediate events made its round through Phoenix. And Mrs. Williams took initiatives to see that a number of us kids went to see it at the Sombreo Playhouse (an unusual place for the movies, I thought). Right off, I was disappointed that it wasn't a Hollywood-type production (preceeded by a short, previews, and cartoons). But the movie made its point (and so did Mrs. Williams) as far as "The English" is concerned.
Over the years of my more thoughtful adulthood, I have evolved. Now, my "living room" takes ques from 221B Baker Street. I send the Queen a personal Christmas greeting every year (responses sometimes signed by a Lady-in-Waiting). Most thankfully, I have long-since discovered the immense value of the Book of Common Prayer as an adjunct to the King James Translation in making daily prayer life more meaningful and sensative.
Although vigilant regarding my part in the sovereignty of our United States of America, I am ever-thankful for what the English did to get us here ... We are blessed with the world's most beautiful and utilized language. Our culture is based on maximum personal freedom and justice. Our moral base is the most practical application of Hebrew-Christian law. Otherwise "Puritanistic"/"Anti-Roman" American Christian sectarianism continues toward its natural and universal home; year by year returning to more and more of the wondrous, exceedingly beautiful, and wholly approprate historic Anglican seasons, traditions, and liturgy.
God bless The Queen, the Church, the Anglosphere, and "U.S." to appreciate, love, and preserve that with which we have been blessed!
TeaPartyPatriot4ever| 5.23.12 @ 1:17AM
There is no about the professionalism and integrity of Queen Elizabeth II, and the institution of the British Monarchy for which she heads.
With that being said, to Americans the whole concept and notion of a Monarch, a King or Queen picked by devine right, to rule over the people / subjects, is to say the least egregiously appalling.
Why, because no human being is better or superior than another human being, and to institutionize this concept is class structured oppression and tyranny when the wrong person is in power, is what and why fought to be free of it in the first place.
Thus is the nature and failure of human beings. This is why a written document like the US Constitution is so great, as there are no human elements of a bad ruler, compared to a benevolent ruler, to live under. Which means our rules and laws are consistent, regardless of who is the head of State.
dadfly| 5.23.12 @ 3:18AM
"Americans find it difficult to get their heads round the notion of Kingship. "
not this American. a just king rules as the annointed, humble servant of God and the people. as madison said, "if men were to be governed by angels, neither external or internal controls on government would be necessary." a Godly king is the next best thing to being governed by an angel.
the problem: as kings are fallen human beings, no better in the sight of God than any man, power will eventually corrupt him or his succession. at that point, the ruler is no longer a "king," but is a tyrant and rules at the behest of satan (the ultimate statist). for this reason, our founders and framers crafted our form of government with external and internal controls to mitigate the inevitable corruption. they of course knew that absent God given virtue, these controls would fail. thus our system is not necessarily better than rule by kings but has proven better at limiting tyranny over time.
since we are now ruled by a wouldbe tyrant, bent on transforming our republic into a utopian statist hell on earth, our founder's design constitutes the main defense of our liberty at present. God bless them for their faith, knowledge of Scripture and history, genius and forsight. unfortunately the tyrant is bent on completing the destruction of their magnificent system. if he succeeds in that Evil, we'll certainly be wishing to be ruled by a God fearing queen like elizabeth instead of the unfettered "dictator-president" we shall have earned due to our negligence and wickedness.
Jones | 5.23.12 @ 6:44PM
God save the Queen.
I hope I live long enough to see Kate become Princess of Wales (I'm half-Welsh.)