Instruments of State

The King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is anointed during their coronation. A tradition going back to the very first kings of England, previously understood as a sign of the divine right of Kings, but a more contemporary understanding might be to mark the moment of ontological change, when the King or Queen truly becomes sovereign.

As counterproductive as might sound, the British Monarch is the primary defender of the civil liberties of British citizens and subjects. It has been said, while the King occupies the highest office of state, no one else can. While he is head of the law, no politician can take over the courts. While he is head of the state, no generals can take over the government. While he is head of the services, no would-be dictator can turn the army against the people. The strength of the monarchy does not lie in the power it gives the sovereign but in the power it denies anyone else.

Of course, the other primary function of the British monarch is to be Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The title, “Protector and Defender of the Christian Faith” was given to the King of Scotland by Pope Julius II, and, “Defender of the Faith” was conferred by Pope Leo X to Henry VIII long before the English state split from the Roman Church. Essentially the Kings of England, Scotland, and later Britain, have been marked as defenders of the Christian faith continuously for over 600 years.

It is for this reason it is significant to note that the Instruments of State; the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and Sceptre were returned to the High Altar during the Committal Service at St George's Chapel.

The crown is a somewhat university symbol worn by earthly rulers; The royal sceptre is a sign of monarchical power and authority; The orb and cross, or to use its proper name, the globus cruciger (Latin for "cross-bearing orb"), is a symbol representing the sovereign’s divinely instituted earthly reign over Christendom.

We may no longer believe in the divine right of kings, but in John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that kings rule over kingdoms only because God allows them to, “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”

The returning of the Instruments of State to the High Altar symbolises the release of that earthly responsibility of the sovereign, and a return of all the power and glory to where it truly belongs, with Christ, the one true King; King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the only ruler of princes.

There is also a reminder that we cannot take our earthly gains with us, after all, “Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's”

And no matter how high an office we hold during our mortal lives on earth, we will all return to dust, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

After a long and successful reign on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II relinquished her power to the one true authority. Christians in England pray for the sovereign on a daily basis, and it seems God really did save the Queen. These Instruments of State will soon be entrusted to King Charles III during his Coronation, for a time, until they are once again returned to Our Lord at his table. For that is where they belong, and where they will always end up.

There is something quite fitting about seeing the crown placed at the foot of the Cross. After the death of her father, King George VI, the only person Her Late Majesty The Queen ever bowed to was Christ.

The Queen is dead, God Save the King.