O Lucky Man!
May. 7th, 2023 07:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smokingbootViewers of the Coronation could be divided thus;
Monarchists
The Unconvinced
People who don't care but like the look
People watching just to hate it
There were no parties around here, a thick fog has descended for three mornings (this is a physical truth but I like it as a metaphor) Scotland has its avid supporters of the Windsors but they are quiet. There was something suggested for up in the hills as was
the business back in the day,but I don't think anything happened. Scotland faces problems right now; the SNP appears to have massive corruption issues, and what this means for the country is anyone's guess. In such circumstances a sense of disinterested continuity might be of comfort for some, but if we shear away the symbolism, others might well say that it's a poor comfort, in the face of shysters and conmen, to be loyal to those who, arguably, stole from the people for far longer.
But we are dealing with symbolism, metaphor as reality, religion right at the point of its meeting with ritual magic, and it is old and powerful, rich in more ways than the obvious. The combination can lift or change consciousness, move people out of the contemplation of their limits and difficulties, their poverty. Whether that's an illumination or a glamour is the question.
The Christian premise of temporal power outlined, the emulation of Christ as king in service, is at once potent and ironic given the last few years of UK government. It might even have been deliberate to set this ideal against the example of Johnson, whose childhood ambition to be 'world king' materialised in a premiership doing exactly what he wanted then lying about it. In the local elections in England the tories just took a colossal drubbing. One would expect it after the debacles of Johnson and Truss, though there's also the possibility of conservative voters sulking at home unable to forgive Sunak for being rich and brown. But it might, just might, herald a more balanced administrative view across England and Wales. Or it may change nothing at all.
There he sat on St Edward's throne, the oldest British prince ever to have been crowned king. Strange to see his faded anxious face, strange to see the Times cartoon today, Morten Morland's depiction of that ever shrinking crown.
It's right that the power imperial grows less, surely the greatest justice would be to see it vanish, superceded by pure meritocracy. But does that ever happen? And if not, if we assume that the world will continue to be dominated by the lucky, what can the Crown be beyond purse and privilege? KCIII always seems to have been a man wanting spiritual purpose, a baffled wanderer in search of context. What he has found, or what he wants others to find, was palpable here. The coronation's magic had a strong feelgood factor, possibly a unifying power after Brexit. We shall see. One thing seems to have connected all viewers in agreement; apparently pretty much everyone chose Camilla's crowning as the moment to boil a kettle and make a cup of tea.
Monarchists
The Unconvinced
People who don't care but like the look
People watching just to hate it
There were no parties around here, a thick fog has descended for three mornings (this is a physical truth but I like it as a metaphor) Scotland has its avid supporters of the Windsors but they are quiet. There was something suggested for up in the hills as was
the business back in the day,but I don't think anything happened. Scotland faces problems right now; the SNP appears to have massive corruption issues, and what this means for the country is anyone's guess. In such circumstances a sense of disinterested continuity might be of comfort for some, but if we shear away the symbolism, others might well say that it's a poor comfort, in the face of shysters and conmen, to be loyal to those who, arguably, stole from the people for far longer.
But we are dealing with symbolism, metaphor as reality, religion right at the point of its meeting with ritual magic, and it is old and powerful, rich in more ways than the obvious. The combination can lift or change consciousness, move people out of the contemplation of their limits and difficulties, their poverty. Whether that's an illumination or a glamour is the question.
The Christian premise of temporal power outlined, the emulation of Christ as king in service, is at once potent and ironic given the last few years of UK government. It might even have been deliberate to set this ideal against the example of Johnson, whose childhood ambition to be 'world king' materialised in a premiership doing exactly what he wanted then lying about it. In the local elections in England the tories just took a colossal drubbing. One would expect it after the debacles of Johnson and Truss, though there's also the possibility of conservative voters sulking at home unable to forgive Sunak for being rich and brown. But it might, just might, herald a more balanced administrative view across England and Wales. Or it may change nothing at all.
There he sat on St Edward's throne, the oldest British prince ever to have been crowned king. Strange to see his faded anxious face, strange to see the Times cartoon today, Morten Morland's depiction of that ever shrinking crown.
It's right that the power imperial grows less, surely the greatest justice would be to see it vanish, superceded by pure meritocracy. But does that ever happen? And if not, if we assume that the world will continue to be dominated by the lucky, what can the Crown be beyond purse and privilege? KCIII always seems to have been a man wanting spiritual purpose, a baffled wanderer in search of context. What he has found, or what he wants others to find, was palpable here. The coronation's magic had a strong feelgood factor, possibly a unifying power after Brexit. We shall see. One thing seems to have connected all viewers in agreement; apparently pretty much everyone chose Camilla's crowning as the moment to boil a kettle and make a cup of tea.
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no subject
Date: 2023-05-07 01:17 pm (UTC)That acknowledged, as I've written before, I'd like to see the human Windsors replaced by the late QEII's corgis. They'd be far more amendable to having their breeding partners preselected.
I didn't watch any live Coronation coverage, but I did look at a lot of photographs. I quite like Charles! I think the whole Diana debacle was his mother's fault; Charles always wanted to be true, but he wanted to be true to Camilla. His straining to be relevant, to be good despite the behavioral ticks embedded in him by his weird upbringing are quite touching to me. I wish him well.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-08 07:02 am (UTC)As to Charles, hmm, I think it's a sign of basic maturity and respect for ones self to be able to refuse something so inauthentic. There were women up and down the country who would gladly have left him to a dozen mistresses in return for the crown. He really could have steered around one of the few who couldn't handle it.
But we grow in our catastrophes I guess. And I also resonate with your words His straining to be relevant, to be good despite the behavioral ticks embedded in him by his weird upbringing are quite touching to me. I wish him no ill.