What is given today is for the gain of all. For Jesus Christ announced a Kingdom in which the poor and oppressed are freed from the chains of injustice.

The blind see. The bruised and broken-hearted are healed.

That Kingdom sets the aims of all righteous government, all authority.

And the Kingdom also sets the means of all government and authority. For Jesus doesn't grasp power or hold onto status.

The King of Kings, Jesus Christ, was anointed not to be served but to serve.

He creates the unchangeable law of good authority: with the privilege of power comes the duty to serve.

Service is love in action.

We see active love in our care for the most vulnerable, the way we nurture and encourage the young, in the conservation of the natural world. We have seen those priorities in the life of duty lived by our King.

Today we have the honour of being in this Abbey with so many who show such love; you work with charities and organisations, you build community, you serve the nation in Armed Forces, in emergency services, and so many other ways.

Next door are 400 or more extraordinary young people in St Margaret's Church, whose lives speak of service.

Around the world in the Realms and Commonwealth are so many more.

You live your lives for the sake of others.

The unity you show, the example you give, is what binds us together and offers societies that are strong, joyful, happy and glorious.

They bear heavy weights for us.

And the weight of the task given today, Your Majesties, is only bearable by the Spirit of God, who gives us the strength to give our lives to others.

With the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the King is given freely what no ruler can ever attain through will, or politics, or war, or tyranny: the Holy Spirit draws us to love in action.

This is promised by Jesus who put aside all privilege, because, as the first reading tells us, God will give all things for our sake, even His own life.

His throne was a Cross.

His crown was made of thorns.

His regalia were the wounds that pierced his body.

Each of us is called by God to serve.

Whatever that looks like in our own lives, each of us can choose God's way today.

We can say to the King of Kings, God Himself, as does the King here today, ‘give grace that in thy service I may find perfect freedom'.

In that prayer, there is promise beyond measure, joy beyond dreams, hope that endures.

By that prayer, for every King, every ruler, and, yes, for every person for all of us, we are opened to the transforming love of God.

• Justin Welby is Archbishop of Canterbury
• Homily delivered at the Coronation of King Charles III. First published by the Archbishop of Canterbury

Queen Elizabeth's funeral last year is reported to have attracted more than 4 billion viewers, making it perhaps the most-watched event in history.

This was the finest moment for the current Earl Marshall, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, more formally known as His Grace the Most Noble Duke of Norfolk. (Pictured.)

The 18th Duke spent 20 years planning the late queen's funeral but has had far less time to arrange the coronation of the United Kingdom's new monarch, King Charles III, on Saturday, May 6.

Despite making the news for dangerous driving and his recent divorce and remarriage, Fitzalan-Howard will try to be as inconspicuous as possible at the coronation, just as he was at the queen's recent funeral, which will be difficult for a man wearing the most extravagant uniform outside the military or the Church of England.

Since 1484 the Earl Marshal has supervised royal events through the College of Arms with assistance from quaintly named characters such as Garter King of Arms and Rouge Dragon Pursuivant.

The payment these heralds receive is appropriately medieval.

Although the Dukes of Norfolk have held this position since 1672, the first Earl Marshal of the Howard family was John, 1st Duke of Norfolk, in 1483.

A few other families have also had a turn, especially during the tumultuous Tudor era.

The most peculiar choice was Henry VIII, made Earl Marshal by his father at 3.

Unsurprisingly, there is confusion bordering on bewilderment about this post.

The Howard family has held different titles going back more than seven centuries.

On occasion, these have been stripped from them — most notably during the reign of Elizabeth I.

The unrelentingly Catholic head of the family had his dukedom removed, along with all his income.

It would have been little consolation then, but Philip Howard was eventually made a saint, canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Philip Howard, who should have been the 5th Duke of Norfolk, died at the Tower of London in 1595, accused of being a Catholic and a Jesuit conspirator. Philip's father, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was beheaded at the same location despite denying being a Catholic before the axe came down.

Similar fates befell the 4th Duke's father and grandfather.

It became a tradition among the Howards to suffer for being Catholic.

The Howard family tells us much about British history, especially Catholic history.

The Dukes of Norfolk have had demotions — promotions have been difficult as they have been at the top for so long anyway.

Some aspired to be kings, while others have been successful statesmen, generals, poets, and cardinals.

One was committed to an Italian insane asylum.

Most clung to their Catholicism, while a few did not.

Others merely talked about converting.

Duke Henry, appointed by Charles II when the monarchy was restored after Cromwell's republic, told the diarist John Evelyn that he "will go to Church and become Protestant" but couldn't bring himself to do so.

His son did instead.

It is the Howards' abilities and persistence that helped rehabilitate Catholics as acceptable members of British society. Continue reading

The coronation has attracted controversy—not least over its $125 million price tag during a cost-of-living crisis—even as opinion polls show dwindling public interest in the monarchy.

But despite controversies, it will still be an opportunity to project the soft-power of British royal pageantry and reaffirm Christianity's place in public affairs, including the presence of Britain's small but significant Catholic minority.

"Being anti-Catholic has been an element of British identity for centuries," Father Timothy Radcliffe, former master of the Dominicans and one of Britain's best-known Catholic preachers, told OSV News.

"I'd hope an event like this will help our church become yet more integrated into national life at a time when, like most countries, we face threats of disintegration, increasing inequality and a declining sense of the common good."

King Charles inherits the duties and prerogatives of head of state in an unbroken line of monarchs dating back to the 10th century. He also assumes the role of supreme governor of the Church of England, along with the traditional title of "fidei defensor," or "defender of the faith," bestowed in 1521 by Pope Leo X on King Henry VIII.

And while he's long declared his wish, in a modern multicultural society, to be defender of all faiths, not just one, King Charles III reaffirmed his Protestant identity in speeches after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022—and will reaffirm it again during the coronation service.

This has caused some disappointment, not least among Britain's Catholics.

The Catholic Church will be represented at the abbey by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, who will share a blessing with Protestant and Orthodox leaders.

Catholic bishops from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also will join the congregation, along with the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the newly appointed apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Spanish Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía.

But Catholic prelates were not included among 50 public figures assigned formal roles in the order of service, published April 28. This will include a Bible reading by Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a practising Hindu, and the presentation of regalia by Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu leaders.

Susan Doran, an Oxford University monarchy historian, said she regretted the bulk of the ceremony will be exclusively Protestant, with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and other Anglican prelates playing a dominant role.

"With its plummeting membership and many problems, it's not surprising the Church of England seeks to hold on to its link with the monarchy, and sees the coronation as an opportunity to proclaim this," Doran told OSV News.

"But at a time when the monarchy seems to be losing meaning for many people, I think it will fuel further alienation if they go too far down a narrow Protestant route—particularly among the young and people of other faiths," she added.

That could be the reaction of some Catholics, too, especially those conscious of how bitter past conflicts have defined modern Britain's religious outlook.

Relations with Rome, dating from the first mission to Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the sixth century, were broken off under Henry VIII in 1536 during the Reformation conflicts.

After a brief restoration under Henry's Catholic daughter, Mary I, hostility reared again under the Protestant Elizabeth I, who was declared excommunicated and deposed as a "servant of wickedness" in 1570 by Pope Pius V.

Persecution of Catholics intensified under Elizabeth's successor, James I, particularly after the infamous 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up the king and his parliament.

Some historians now dispute whether such a plot really existed. But it sealed the fate of English Catholics for the next 250 years as perceived heretics and traitors.

Even in the late 19th century, the Catholic Church was treated as an alien element in national life, deprived of equal rights. Although a church hierarchy was reestablished in 1850, it took until 1871 for Catholic academics even to be admitted to Oxford and Cambridge universities, and until St. John Paul II's historic 1982 visit for formal diplomatic ties to be established.

Since then, the Catholic Church's profile has been rebuilt, bringing it closer to full acceptance as a British institution.

Recent statistics show that Catholics make up around 13% of the United Kingdom's 67 million inhabitants, with Anglicans at 14%, although religious affiliations have declined sharply across the country, with only around half of citizens declaring themselves Christian in recent surveys, compared to more than 70% two decades ago.

Although King Charles's consort, Queen Camilla, was baptized a Protestant, she was married by a Catholic priest in 1973 to her Catholic first husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, and brought up her son and daughter as Catholics.

Technical formalities aside, Charles has shown personal openness to Catholics, postponing his own wedding to Camilla in 2005 to attend St. John Paul's funeral.

Before his fourth Vatican visit in October 2019 for the canonisation of St John Henry Newman, Charles published an article in L'Osservatore Romano and The Times of London hailing the event as a celebration "not merely for Catholics, but for all who cherish the values by which he was inspired."

Heading a 12-member Catholic delegation to pledge allegiance to the new king March 9, Cardinal Nichols duly paid tribute to Charles's "commitment to religious faith" and assured him of Catholic support.

On April 19, the pope himself reciprocated, donating two splinters from the Cross of Christ, preserved among relics in the Vatican Museums, for incorporation into a new Cross of Wales, which will lead the king's coronation procession.

The king will be crowned as he sits on a 700-year-old chair with the solid-gold St. Edward's Crown, made for Charles II in 1661. He will be presented with the orb and sceptre pictured last autumn sitting atop the late queen's coffin.

Holy oil for anointing the monarch and Camilla was consecrated March 4 at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.

Cardinal Nichols and other British Catholic bishops urged Catholics to take a full part in coronation events, including special weekend Masses and a May 3-5 triduum of prayer, as well as a nationwide day of volunteering and charity work set for May 8. Continue reading

Speaking on a new royal 'docuseries' the Church of England's most senior cleric from 1991 to 2002 says he was 'pitched in to help' with Charles and Dianna's marriage.

In a frank discussion, he tells ITVXs 'The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor' how he was called in to try to rescue the couple's turbulent relationship.

"I found myself as the Archbishop of Canterbury pitched in to this.

"I remember one meeting at Number 10 Downing Street with [former Prime Minister] John Major and some members of the Cabinet, wrestling with what we could do to help.

"The role I took was to try and meet up," Carey (now Lord Carey) says.

The "dynamic (between Charles and Diana) was not going to be successful.

"Charles, deep thinking, a slower personality, reflective. Diana, dynamic, vibrant, less driven. It wasn't going to work."

The royals and the archbishops

For centuries, Archbishops of Canterbury have been entrusted with helping members of the Royal Family tackle some of the trickiest issues of the day.

Probably the most famous case was one Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was called in to help with.

That was when King Henry VIII and Cranmer wrestled with the King's demand to divorce Katherine of Aragon. Cranmer successfully negotiated with the Pope. He then validated Henry and Anne's marriage.

Coronation

The Coronation, which is just three weeks away, will see both King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla crowned in front of 2,000 people in Westminster Abbey.

Charles' and Diana's sons, William and Harry, will be present.

Source

• Daily Mail