'Even secular societies need occasional moments of magic. The coronation is an ancient Judeo-Christian ceremony in a largely post-Christian country. But the decline of formal religion doesn’t mean people lose their sense of the transcendent.' -Dan Hannan
There are two countries in the world where new monarchs are crowned with a Christian liturgy — crowned, that is, in the literal sense of having metal placed on their heads. One, obviously, is the United Kingdom. The other is Tonga, where a British-style coronation involving the local Anglican archbishop has been tacked onto the older ritual of ceremonial kava-drinking.
The unction stretches back 3,000 years to the consecration of King Solomon, as recounted in the first Book of Kings, 1:38-39. Edgar’s subjects recited those verses in Bath Abbey, and the great composer Handel condensed them into the majestic choral piece he wrote for George II’s accession in 1727, surely the most regal anthem ever composed: “Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king.
C.S. Lewis expressed it beautifully: “Where men are forbidden to honor a king, they honor millionaires, athletes, or film stars instead; even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.”
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