The Coronation, the Divine Right of Kings, & the Royal Anointing Screen. Peak Mumbo Jumbo
There will be wall to wall media coverage of the Coronation except for one bit. The King and Queen will be anointed with a special chism and this will be done in private behind a special Anointing Screen.
It is claimed that at this point the King communes with God. King Charles is welcome to do this at any time but the Divine Right of Kings, where monarchs claimed divine guidance for their decisions was abolished on 30th January 1649 when a period of Parliamentary rule started.
When the monarchy was restored in 1660 it was as a Constitutional Monarchy ruling through Parliament not God.
The Anointing Screen is peak Coronation mumbo jumbo.
Keith Flett will be speaking on The Coronation, Inventing and Reinventing traditions in the socialist history seminar series at the Institute of Historical Research on Monday 15th May at 5.30pm
It is free on Zoom but booking is essential at the link below
https://www.history.ac.uk/events/coronation-inventing-and-reinventing-royal-traditions
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