A promise to serve
Public promises, a hidden ceremony, and a secret recipe. Catherine Butcher considers key aspects of the Queen’s 70 years of faith and service
At the start of this Platinum Jubilee year the Queen renewed her pledge first made in 1947 ‘that my life will always be devoted to your service’.
She first made that promise on her 21st birthday when she asked for her people’s support and God’s help ‘to make good my vow’. It is a pledge she has repeated and kept. In her first Christmas broadcast as Queen in 1952 she asked for prayer as she approached her Coronation: ‘Pray that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making, and that I may faithfully serve him and you, all the days of my life.’
She then made those solemn promises before 82,251 people on 2nd June 1953 in Westminster Abbey, the setting for every Coronation since 1066. A further 27 million people in the UK watched the ceremony on television and 11 million listened on the radio.
Hidden Ceremony
Each aspect of the ceremony was steeped in history and symbolism. She used words which descend directly from those used at the Coronation of King Edgar in 973. She was crowned with St Edward’s Crown, traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their Coronations since the 13th century.
As well as the oaths and crowning, there was Holy Communion and the most hallowed moment: the anointing, when the Archbishop anointed her hands, chest and head with fragrant oil. This moment was considered so sacred, it was hidden from view under a canopy so the television cameras could not film it.
For the Coronation, the anointing oil is traditionally made to an ancient secret recipe. But the phial containing the original oil had been destroyed in a wartime bombing raid on London in May 1941, so a new supply had to be prepared.
Prayers and Preparation
The anointing follows a pattern set out in the Bible around 1000 BC when Zadok, a priest, and Nathan, a prophet, anointed Solomon as king in Israel. To help the Queen prepare for this sacred moment, the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, Geoffrey Fisher, wrote A Little Book of Private Devotions – short, daily meditations with Bible readings and prayers, for the Queen to use from 1 May 1953 to the day of her Coronation. Only six copies of the Devotions were printed; 33 daily reflections, which give us an insight into the Queen’s personal prayer and preparation for her role as Sovereign.
As the Devotions explain, through the anointing ‘a new relationship is established between God and his servants’. God’s anointing sets people apart for service and makes the difference between an ordinary human life and a life empowered by God’s Holy Spirit.
To emphasis the fact that she was coming to this moment as an ordinary women, the Queen’s regal robes were removed, leaving her wearing a simple white dress, as the Devotions reminded her:
…stripped of all royal dignity, to offer myself in my own person for his work.
Symbolically she was coming to God like any other Christian without any special status. She was asking God to send his Holy Spirit to enable her to take on her royal role. In her devotions she anticipated this significant moment:
By the anointing God makes, blesses, and consecrates me Queen: and I am till my dying day ‘his anointed servant’.
Anointed for service
This anointing for service is underlined by the Queen’s personal faith, expressed in her duty and service to the country and Commonwealth. In 2013, when remembering Prince George’s christening earlier that year, she said, ‘As with all who are christened, George was baptised into a joyful faith of Christian duty and service.’
As she frequently says in her Christmas broadcasts, her Christian faith is a vital part of her life. In 2002 she said, ‘I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God. Like others of you who draw inspiration from your own faith, I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.’
And, as she said at Christmas in 2014: ‘For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.’
As her speeches show, faith, duty and service are the hallmarks of her 70 years on the throne; a record-breaking reign that’s worth celebrating.
Sing, serve and celebrate
The Platinum Jubilee gives us an opportunity to bring our communities together after two difficult years: theplatinumjubilee.com is a dedicated website with all the ideas and resources you’ll need to celebrate.
- Sing the new anthem ‘Rise Up and Serve’ – the backing tracks, music and lyrics can be downloaded free
- Involve your community in 70 Acts of Service in honour of the Queen’s 70 years of service – there’s a list of 70 ideas to get you started
- Invite local schools, youth groups and uniformed organisations to use the resources and lesson plans for young people ‘On Her Majesty’s Service’
- Download the free Street Party Planner and bring together local groups to organise local celebrations – there’s a list of games to help involve everyone