“YORK HAM WITH SUSSEX royals.” My suggested menu for the coronation picnic on the village green evoked no enthusiasm. I was against the whole idea — and I don’t just mean the picnic.
I still find it odd that a king should wish to condemn himself to an oily and uncomfortable procedure, calculated to make the most sacré of heroes look silly, pompous, deluded and anachronistic, in front of merciless cameras, ignorant commentators and baffled spectators.
Spanish kings don’t have coronations: divine grace should already have been conferred at the moment of succession, without any need to make monarchs look pretentious or insecure.
The British, I suppose, change dynasties so often that no head of state has ever been able to feel safely legitimate without a lot of reassuring flummery;…
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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 2023