The Coronation and the Constitution in the British Tradition

This book examines the legal, political and theological functions of the British coronation. Coronations as understood in the traditional western European sense, are, in those countries which remain monarchies, increasingly rarely found, though they are far from extinct. They indeed may be seen as an exceptional survival of a vanishing era, an age dominated by kingship and Christianity – although some non-Christian kingdoms retain, have adopted, or once had, comparable inaugurations. But the coronation, as the term is generally understood, is a unique hybrid of election, tribal inauguration, political acknowledgment and sacred setting apart, which make its legal, political and theological roles highly significant. The fact that the United Kingdom is one of the few monarchies which retain coronations does not diminish the importance of the coronation – indeed, rather the opposite. The country is also the last of the great monarchies of Europe, so it would perhaps be surprising if it did not retain such a ritual and solemnity. It is in the context of its historical setting, the theological and political underpinnings and rationale, and indeed a more modern sociological understanding of the role of ritual, that the importance of the coronation as a constitutional ritual of the highest importance is to be understood, and therefore its necessity may be considered.