It was one year ago, May 6, 2023, that Prince Charles III of England was crowned King Charles (though he had acceded to the throne the previous September 22, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, passed). Charles had been waiting for that moment for a long time. When his mother became queen, Charles was 4 years old. He was 73 at his coronation.
Charles’ wait was uncommonly protracted, first because his mother became queen so young (25 years old), and she was aged when she passed (96 years old). Throughout his mother’s reign, and especially as she entered her elderly years, there were plenty of calls for the queen to abdicate and allow her son to take the throne. Whispers told stories of Charles’ eager anticipation to become King.
Yet, all that desire to become king has to be seen in light of the reality that the British king is largely a figurehead. What power does Charles have? He and the rest of the members of the royal family are certainly popular. They truly have wealth and some measure of influence. But Charles, as king, is not running the government, is not directing the military, and is not deciding how his nation’s wealth is used. There are many nations with kings and queens in our world still today, and they are mostly like Charles: famous, but without the power of presidents, prime ministers, judges, and other government officials. It wasn’t always that way.
Our American experiment was launched protesting the overreaching power of monarchy. “No taxation without representation,” we said to King George, declaring our independence in 1776. Our forefathers believed the kings could all too easily become dictators. We wanted separation of powers. We wanted self-rule, so we could organize our colonies in a way we believed was best, including having slavery. So we fought our way out from under monarchical rule. We did not want a king!
Or did we? Did we trade one King George for another? Are we Americans king-makers, disguised in democracy?
Interestingly, in the next section in my blog series through 1st and 2nd Samuel, the people of Israel declare that they do want a king. There is no disguising it. They are bold about it. They want a king, and they make their wishes known. Why do they want a king? Is Israel growing up, perhaps? And what does God have to say about this? Join me on the blog next week as we study 1st Samuel chapters 8, 9, and 10. Read the chapters ahead of time, and then I look forward to talking about it further with you.
Photo by Paweł Furman on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 