Vision - God Save the Queen

Monarchy is the oldest institution of government = in the=20 United Kingdom, and this year Queen Elizabeth II will become the=20 fourth-longest-reigning sovereign in English history. She celebrates the = 50th=20 anniversary of her accession to the throne late this spring, something = only=20 three previous British monarchs (Henry III, George III and Victoria) = were able=20 to do.

For the past half century, Queen Elizabeth has = demonstrated a=20 remarkable resiliency despite the negative publicity several other = members of=20 the royal family have generated. And so far the monarchy has managed to = fend off=20 the intermittent debate as to whether this mostly symbolic form of = rulership=20 should even continue to exist. The empire is gone, yet the queen = continues as a=20 symbol of tradition and stability to more than 1.5 billion inhabitants = of the=20 Commonwealth.

Elizabeth came to the throne at the age of 25 following = the death=20 of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952. At her coronation, = which=20 took place more than a year later on June 2, 1953, she was crowned = =93Elizabeth=20 the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain = and=20 Northern Ireland and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the = Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.=94

The mood of the country was one of growing confidence: = the end of=20 war rationing was finally in sight, Edmund Hillary had conquered Mt. = Everest,=20 and the nation was optimistic about its new young queen.

From the outset, Elizabeth was held in high esteem and = affection,=20 not only in the United Kingdom but throughout the Commonwealth. Her = strong sense=20 of dedication had been revealed a few years earlier in a speech she gave = in=20 South Africa on her 21st birthday. She read with dignity and earnestness = from=20 the prepared script, giving a deeper meaning to the words than even her = speech=20 writer had intended: =93I declare before you all that my whole life, = whether it be=20 long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our = great=20 Imperial family to which we all belong, but I shall not have the = strength to=20 carry out this resolution alone unless you join in with me, as I now = invite you=20 to do. I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me = to make=20 good my vow and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.=94 =

Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth has consistently=20 demonstrated her profound sense of responsibility to the nation, as did = her=20 father and mother before her. Michael Mann, the Dean of Windsor and former Bishop of Dudley, = wrote: =93The=20 one lesson that the abdication of Edward VIII burnt deep into the souls = of the=20 present Queen and Queen Mother was that you never, never abdicate your = duty. The=20 Queen has always seen that with privilege goes responsibility=94 (quoted = by=20 Douglas Keay, The Queen, 1991).

During these past 50 years, the queen has worked with = the=20 administrations of 10 British prime ministers. As a result, her grasp of = world=20 events is probably unsurpassed. She works tirelessly to carry out her=20 constitutional responsibilities, receiving copies of all cabinet papers, = records=20 of all cabinet committee meetings, a daily summary of events in = Parliament, and=20 important Foreign Office telegrams=F3and she dutifully reads them = all.

CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY

The British Crown is a hereditary position, the monarch = serving as=20 the United Kingdom=92s head of state. It is a symbolic office, balanced = between=20 participation and governmental representation. The queen=92s duties = include the=20 state opening of Parliament, weekly meetings with the prime minister, = meetings=20 with the Privy Council (her senior advisors), giving royal assent to=20 legislation, and approving numerous government appointments. It also = means=20 discharging duties relating to the Scottish Parliament and the = Assemblies of=20 Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, the queen is the titular head = of the=20 Church of England.

Because the monarch=92s duties are tempered by a council = of=20 ministers that reduces any real authority to token responsibilities, the = British=20 Crown is not a threat to any political institutions. In order to = function, the=20 monarchy must transcend all political activity and maintain a = nonpartisan view.=20 According to the Victorian-era editor of The Economist, Walter Bagehot, = the=20 function of a constitutional monarch is to warn, to encourage and to = advise.

The royal family is also involved in nearly 3,000 = official=20 engagements each year, requiring frequent travel within the United = Kingdom and=20 internationally. She carries out state visits overseas and receives = state and=20 official visitors to the United Kingdom. Each year the royal family = entertains=20 about 80,000 guests at dinners, luncheons, receptions and garden = parties, and=20 receives and replies to about 100,000 letters in addition to inquiries = from the=20 media.

As head of the Commonwealth, which is a voluntary = association of=20 54 independent countries, the queen maintains and preserves relations = with and=20 between former British colonies, fostering international cooperation and = trade=20 links between people all over the world. Even though most of these = countries=20 have moved from British rule to independent self-government, the queen = is=20 sovereign of several Commonwealth nations, including Australia, New = Zealand and=20 Canada.

BUT DOES IT HAVE A FUTURE?

In spite of republican sentiment among those who would = like to=20 abolish the monarchy in favor of an elected head of state, the British = people=20 are generally monarchists at heart. There is, however, a growing apathy = and=20 disinterest toward things royal, even among supporters. According to a = December=20 2001 survey by YOUGov, an online polling organization, large numbers of = Britons=20 believe that the queen has failed to keep up with the times and is out = of step=20 with her people. More than 80 percent of respondents said they enjoyed = reading=20 newspaper stories about the monarchy only a little or not at all, and = fewer than=20 one in three is taking a real interest in the queen=92s 50th-anniversary = celebration.

In a December MORI poll, however, only 21 percent of = those=20 surveyed favored Britain becoming a republic, with 70 percent in favor = of=20 retaining the monarchy. Yet in the same poll, when respondents were = asked if=20 they thought Britain would have a monarchy in 50 years, only 39 percent = thought=20 it would.

So the question arises whether the monarchy has become = an outdated=20 and outmoded institution. Will a time come when there will no longer be = a=20 monarch presiding as Britain=92s head of state? Will the monarchy become = obsolete?

It is interesting to note that there are only two ways = whereby the=20 monarchy could be abolished. The first, which is highly improbable, is a = revolution overthrowing the throne. The second is for the monarchy to = abolish=20 itself by ratifying a parliamentary bill to that end.

As Sarah Bradford, author of the 1996 book Elizabeth, = says, =93The=20 British monarchy has lasted 1,200 years. Dismantling it would not be = easy, nor=20 would the finding of a satisfactory and safe alternative. It would be = extremely=20 difficult to disentangle the monarchy from the constitution and such a = leap in=20 the dark could be dangerous.=94

Keay writes: =93For the foreseeable future all the = evidence would=20 suggest that the British will go on needing and appreciating having a = Head of=20 State who is not elected or appointed but who is in lineal descent from = Henry=20 VIII, whose great-great-great grandparent was Queen Victoria. There is = something=20 in the British psyche that hankers after continuity. To some, the Queen = may=20 appear to be an anachronistic totem-pole propping up a privileged and = split=20 society. And many believe that the royal financial arrangements require = urgent=20 reappraisal. But to the great majority of her people the Queen, and the = Crown,=20 remain the chief symbol of the nation, to be jealously guarded.=94

FINDING THE FUTURE IN THE PAST

The British psyche=92s attachment to the monarchy has = another,=20 perhaps surprising dimension that warrants consideration. Throughout its = development, the territory we know today as the United Kingdom has = displayed an=20 affinity for the kingdom of Israel.

From the earliest recorded coronation ceremony of an = English=20 monarch, detailed in the Egbertine Order dating to the eighth century, = the event=20 has replicated in part the anointing to office of the kings of ancient = Israel,=20 notably David and Solomon. Elements such as an oath given by the = monarch,=20 anointing, investiture, enthronement and homage are still central to the = occasion.

The oath, with its promises of justice, judgment and = mercy, are=20 echoes of the demands placed on the descendants of King David in the = pages of=20 the Bible (for example, see Psalm 89:14).

Anointing is clearly part of the biblical approach to = the=20 coronation of a monarch (1 Samuel 16:1, 13; 1 Kings 1:39). The anointing = mentioned in the Egbertine Order represents the earliest record of this = in=20 Europe, although certain earlier documents hint at the process. Changes = since=20 the eighth century have shown a further development of the ceremony = rather than=20 a departure from it.

While it would be easy to dismiss such a connection as = merely part=20 of England=92s Judeo-Christian heritage, the link also finds expression = in another=20 part of the coronation ceremony.

During a campaign against the Scots, Edward I = (1272=961307) took a=20 large oblong stone from the abbey at Scone, in Scotland, and moved it to = Westminster Abbey, where a new throne was constructed and the stone = housed=20 beneath the seat. That throne has been used as the coronation chair for = all the=20 English and British monarchs ever since, with the exception of Mary I. =

The mysterious stone was known as =93Jacob=92s pillar = stone=94 (see=20 Genesis 28:11, 16=9621) and =93the Stone of Destiny.=94 The Scots held = that whoever=20 was crowned on that stone would have rulership over Scotland. = Accordingly, it=20 had been used in all Scots (and before that, Irish) coronations for=20 centuries.

To Edward and those before him, the stone was therefore = more than=20 just a mythical object from antiquity. Because of its widely accepted = link to=20 the Israelite patriarch Jacob, the Scots and the Irish had regarded it = as adding=20 legitimacy to their throne. Thus Edward=92s taking of the Stone of = Destiny should=20 not be dismissed as a show of religious superstition or piety. His aim = as king=20 was to reestablish the preeminence of the monarchy after the setbacks = and=20 problems faced by his father, Henry III. He was prepared to elevate = military=20 interests and foreign policy over religious interests. So if possession = of the=20 Stone of Destiny added legitimacy to the Scottish throne, then by = extension it=20 should also add legitimacy to his own English throne, especially as he = sought to=20 make his royal jurisdiction supreme over Scotland as well.

From the time of Edward the stone remained in = Westminster Abbey,=20 apart from a short period in 1950 when Scottish nationalists staged a = heist and=20 took the stone back to Scotland. Since 1996, it has been located in = Edinburgh=20 Castle on the condition that it be returned to Westminster Abbey for = future=20 coronations.

While the origins and nature of the rock from which the = stone was=20 taken are debated, the very existence and royal use of a stone related = to=20 distant biblical events generates questions. Why would the British = monarchy and=20 its Scots and Irish predecessors attach such importance to this stone in = the=20 first place?

Britain is celebrating Elizabeth II=92s 50-year-reign = even as many=20 debate the relevance of the Crown in the 21st century. But could the = real=20 significance and durability of Britain=92s monarchy be rooted in a much = more=20 ancient history?

DONNA BUTLER
and PETER NATHAN

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