Buckingham Palace will host a massive celebration of the Queen's reign on June 4. Photo: Mike Marrah.,,,
by Lyndon Bowring
We have a number of family members who are committed republicans on the subject of the British monarchy, believing it’s an outdated institution steeped in privilege and social class that costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. While it’s true that some members of the Royal Family have behaved in regrettable ways and appear to do little in return for their generous allowances, others work extremely hard on behalf of all sorts of causes and bring enormous benefit to this country and others.
And then there’s the Queen! Last Christmas, when it was time for her message on television, one vocal republican muttered, ‘OK, I’ll watch it. The Queen’s all right and might not be here much longer.’ The idea of royalty offends him but somehow, he couldn’t resist the extraordinary person Her Majesty is and what she means. As a committed monarchist, I was thrilled!
It’s wonderful that our national anthem is a prayer for her. ‘God save the Queen, send her victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us.’ Her life has certainly had its challenges, but I believe that prayer is being answered.
On the occasion of her 90th birthday, Bible Society, Hope and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) published ‘The Servant Queen and the King She Serves’, a beautifully produced book of photographs and the Queen’s own words describing the importance of her Christian faith. In the foreword, she expressed gratitude for people’s prayers, saying how she’d felt God’s faithfulness throughout the years of her reign. Describing Jesus as the ‘inspiration and anchor in my life’, she spoke of the forgiveness he offers and the difference he makes in the lives of those who follow him.
In a few weeks we’ll be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with concerts, pageants, street parties, the lighting of 1,500 beacons up and down the country and tree-planting projects in many rural and urban areas. A Service of Thanksgiving in St Paul’s Cathedral will be held on Sunday 5 June and I’m sure that churches across the nation – and around the world – will also be thanking God for her.
For me, it’s very reassuring to have a monarch who regularly attends church and who shares our beliefs and values – faithfully living by them. Like my godly parents before me, I’m Pentecostal and never intend to be anything different. However, that doesn’t stop me from being an ardent supporter of the established Church of England with the Queen at its head. She is an amazing golden thread that helps to hold the very fabric of British society together.
So let’s keep singing the ‘anthem prayer’ and may we have many more Christmas messages from her!
From Direction Magazine issue 236
