Reflections on the monarchy and personal sovereignty
We will examine the burning question of moral leadership and the deeper issue of personal sovereignty - as symbolised in the Royal Sceptre.??
Next Saturday the world will watch with curiosity, maybe amusement, or even some hostility, the coronation of Kind Charles III of Britain. Royalists will immerse themselves in past nostalgia. He will also be titular head of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Commonwealth
Some however will ruefully reflect that Charles I was beheaded in the reign of Oliver Cromwell.?Ironically the Commonwealth, to which I shall refer later, was the name of the republic instituted by Cromwell. Contrasted agains the despotic Charles I, Charles III's mentor, Sir Laurens van der Post, hoped that he would become symbolic priest-king.
Queen Elizabeth
Just before my 7th birthday in 1953 I watched my first colour movie in Cape Town - the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.?I was especially entranced by the golden carriage. That was before ‘white’ South Africa chose to become a republic - the queen was also our head of state. It was her face on our currency; pounds, shillings and pence. In my childlike way I was proud that my parents had been invited to attend the princesse’s 21st birthday celebration in the Cape Town City Hall during the royal visit to South Africa in 1947.?
领英推荐
Winds of change
Times have changed - following Harald McMillan’s famous ‘winds of change’ speech in the South African parliament, in order to become a republic South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth - an institution that Jan Smuts had worked so hard to transform from the former British Empire. Then, after the full democratic elections in 1994, Nelson Mandela’s 'rainbow nation' South Africa was invited back into the Commonwealth. A royal visit again followed in 1995. And last year South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was again feted at Buckingham Palace.
Personal sovereignty
Now, as a British citizen, Charles will also become my king - like it or not. Going forward this week I will reflect on the role of the monarchy in the 21st century, the burning question of moral leadership, and especially the deeper issue of personal sovereignty - as symbolised in the Royal Sceptre.??
If you are curious to follow this daily sharing, begin by reading this reflection ‘Will you obey your king’ from some years ago:
Co-convenor - Holos-Earth Project
1 年The Economist reports on Yuval Noah Harari's argument that AI has '...hacked the operating system of human civilisation'. He suggests that storytelling computers will change the course of human history. There's a message here that resonates with the command of King Arthur to Tom of Warwick to stay alive and ensure the story of Camelot is held for future generations - see: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/2017-you-obey-your-king-claudius-van-wyk/