The Horrible Histories children’s books’ author and God seem to agree. Kingship is dangerous. “Every king and queen in history has been either stupid or cruel but most of them have been both!” said author Terry Deary in a recent interview, as Horrible Histories marks its 30th birthday. “This will be the ways of your king,” warned the prophet Samuel when the Israelites longed to have a king like everybody else, “He will take your sons… your daughters… the best of your fields… and you shall be his slaves.”
Thank goodness we no longer live in an age when kings have absolute power. As we have been warned, ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Our new king wields little direct power but still has important influence. In his mother we saw the light touch and immense grace with which this privileged position can be held.
Thankfully long gone too is any belief in the ‘divine right of kings’. Indeed the relevance of a monarch in 21 st Century Britain is understandably questioned. Yet our nation remains grounded, in theory at least, on Christian foundations.
And so King Charles III will be anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury with olive oil, a tradition rooted in Old Testament times. The oil will come from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, linking both to his spiritual heritage through Christ who walked there, and to his blood-line, his paternal grandmother being buried there. In this symbol, divinity and humanity thus connect – heaven and earth. ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ – in his vows, King Charles recognises his unique role in seeking to bring about more of heaven on earth.
What qualities does he need to do this? The same as the rest of us. The C of E produced a booklet of daily prayers for the 28 days between Easter and the Coronation. The final nine before the Coronation Day are for the nine ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ from St Paul: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – the qualities of heaven.
Where might Charles III sit for future young readers in a Horrible Histories line that has included the likes of the King of Bling (Charles II) and Vile Victoria? Whatever the humour, may his reign be a Heavenly Horrible History.
