So, the great day dawns and King Charles III and his queen will be anointed and crowned at Westminster Abbey and I find myself in somewhat of a dilemma.
On the one hand, however bad things get, us Brits certainly know how to do the pomp of a right royal occasion. Yes, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was stolen by Paddington Bear but her funeral was a masterpiece of regal ceremony. Even in this slimmed down coronation I will expect no less.
I am not sure if the event will attract the audiences around the world that watched the funeral of the late Queen, but there will be enough to make an impact.
There will be people who will travel to London with no chance of even getting a glimpse of the parade just so they can say, “I was there”. Indeed, this cat was in London on the very day Charles and Diana got hitched and the crowds and the atmosphere were quite extraordinary.
I should point out, I wasn’t there for the wedding (my invite must have got lost in the post, as is my invite to today’s knees up) but for tedious work, but it was difficult not to get carried away on the tide of celebration.
But, on the other hand, as Charles, on the death of his mother, became head of the Church of England, someone who was not able to be married to Camilla in a CofE church as both he and his wife were divorcees, how can one who has sinned against the church he now leads (and his wife), take the crown in a religious ceremony?
Yes, in Charles’ case his first wife died before he remarried, but Camilla’s ex-husband is still alive and kicking and will be unmentioned, I am sure, throughout the day.
I know this latter point will not weigh heavily on most people and I get the fact that for many it is an excuse for a bit of a party and they will get a day off work, but it is something that devalues Charles’ reign even before it has really started and may well be leading us down the republican road.
Although I do not know him, I think Charles is a decent man and I am sure his wife is equally decent, especially in the way she clearly loves and supports him. That is not the point.
Ever since we broke from Rome under that fat, philandering thug Henry VIII, the CofE take on Christianity has tried, and failed, to find a voice around it’s many strands and believers can gather. Yes, unlike the RC version, it now has female clerics but its hardline against divorcees marrying in their churches, does grate.
But that is the position the CofE finds itself – unable to countenance the fact that marriages break up for a myriad of reasons and that love second or even third time around can be more fulfilling. Even if Jesus and the Bible advocate forgiveness, this church does not find it in its stony heart to forgive this transgression leaving itself out of touch with modern society.
I know many couples who have happily and forever, been married to the same partner and I know of very many couples who found that their first love was not the ‘til death us do part’ one and have gone on to find love elsewhere. Who am I to judge, yet the CofE feels able to judge.
So, while I enjoy the extra day off, while feeling sorry for those who will not have ‘a day off’, I will ponder the dilemma of the head of the Church of England being anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, after he and his Queen committed the unforgiveable sins of getting divorced and hope that in some way redeeming his wickedness he can lead the CofE out of this darkness and back to being a central pillar of faith and leadership in an ever troublesome world.
I also hope he is able to deliver a monarchy for the modern age and, finally, I hope Harry keeps his gob shut.
About Cumbria Cat
Born in Cumberland and, now, back living in Cumberland, having spent most of the past 50 years in some place called Cumbria, this cat has used up all nine lives as well as a few others.
Always happy to curl up on a friendly lap, the preference is for a local lap and not a lap that wants to descend on the county to change it into something it isn’t. After all, you might think Cumbria/Cumberland/Westmorland is a land forged by nature – the glaciers, the rivers, breaking down the volcanic rocks or the sedimentary layers – but, in reality, the Cumbria we know today was forged by generations of local people, farmers, miners, quarriers, and foresters.
This cat is a local moggy, not a Burmese, Ocicat or Persian, and although I have been around the block a few times, whenever I jump, I end up on my feet back in my home county. I am passionate about the area, its people, past, present and future, and those who come to admire what we hold dear, be it lakes and mountains, wild sea shores, vibrant communities or the history as rich and diverse as anywhere in the world.
