Today, on this special Bank Holiday, we celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 69 years ago – not 70 as I made the mistake of saying a few days ago! The Queen was actually ‘crowned’ in June 1953 some 15 months after her accession to the throne following the death of her father George VI in February 1952.
A coronation is a ceremony at which a person is made king or queen (Cambridge dictionary). Synonyms for coronation include crowning, investiture, anointing and inauguration.
The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on a very wet day – a ceremony which lasted for just under three hours. Coronations have been held at Westminster Abbey for 900 years and the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was to follow suit. But the Coronation of 1953 was ground-breaking in its own right – the first ever to be televised, it was watched by 27 million people in the UK alone and millions more around the world. My father was one of those who watched it with others on television.
Following her Coronation the Queen made a broadcast in the evening, reflecting on the events of the day, thanking the public for their support and promising to serve the nation:
“Therefore, I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God's Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.”
The Queen’s address to the nation is worth reading in full. What struck me from this short extract is that she promised (with the help of God) to reign and serve us, her subjects. She made herself humble and despite the outward show of pomp and ceremony which was reflected at her Coronation, the Queen knew she had been appointed by God to serve her Nation and the Commonwealth.
To live a life of service is to make oneself vulnerable and open to the needs of others. It is something we learn to do. It becomes a way of life whereby we put the needs of others first using the gifts and talents God has given us.
If we reflect on Jesus’s life here on earth that too was one of humility and service. He came to serve not be served and asks us as his followers to do the same.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
Graham Kendrick’s iconic worship song, ‘The Servant King’ reflects this theme of service demonstrated by Jesus:
This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King
So let us learn how to serve
And in our lives enthrone Him
Each other's needs to prefer
For it is Christ we're serving
As we ponder and reflect on this special anniversary, as we celebrate or as we spend the day quietly – whatever we are doing - let us be thankful for the example Her Majesty has set us in serving the people of this Nation and the Commonwealth and strive (with the help of God) to serve one another.
Gracious God, we give you thanks
for the reign of your servant Elizabeth our Queen,
and for the example of loving and faithful service
which she has shown among us.
Help us to follow her example of dedication
and to commit our lives to you and to one another,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Cathryn Clarke