Will you or won’t you? There didn’t seem to be much scope in the heroically inclusive Coronation service to divide the nation but the amiable Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has somehow managed it. His invitation — and the rubrics in the service make that clear — to everyone, including those watching on television, to join in the Homage to the King has managed to drive a wedge between those who will and those who wonder what planet all this is on. It goes like this:
“I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.” Once, this oath was the prerogative of royal dukes and peers in strict order of seniority. Now everyone’s invited to join what the Archbishop optimistically calls “a chorus of millions of voices enabled for the first time in history to participate in this solemn and joyful moment”. The chorus so far hasn’t quite been what he had in mind.
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