In a guest post, Jonathan Chaplin, an Anglican, Fellow of Wesley House, Cambridge, and author of “Beyond Establishment: Resetting Church-State Relations in England” (SCM 2022), offers a sceptical personal view of the Church of England’s role in the Coronation.

Moving a motion in a Westminster Hall debate on ‘Christianity in Society’ on 30 March 2023, Nick Fletcher MP declared:

‘At the Coronation, His Majesty the King will be anointed in the name of God as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, as well as Head of State. St Edward’s crown, which will be placed on his head, contains a cross and orb symbolising the King and our world under the authority of God’.

He speculated that ‘Many people who do not have a personal faith in Christ still value this history and the benefits it has given us’.[1]

Defenders of Establishment will be approaching the Coronation with similar sentiments in mind. They will be looking to the Church of England to step forward, with its customary dignity and solemnity, to preside over a unique moment of national identity-formation, rich with historic, civic and spiritual meaning.[2] Continue reading →