HM. Is There a Hidden Secret?

The last couple of days has been quite a time for celebration here in England. First the Queen's Ninetieth Birthday, and now St. George's Day. And oh yes, for those into English literature and the arts, today (that is April 23rd, 2016) also marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. But there was also a sad side to these past fifty or so hours. That is the sudden, premature death of singer and musician Prince at his home in Chanhassen, Minnesota - on the same day as the Queen's Birthday. Ironic too, that both have royal titles. Coincidence? Maybe so, but surely such a probability of the two, both with royal titles, yet totally unrelated and living thousands of miles apart, arriving at their milestones on the same day must be one chance in a billion.

I was no fan of Prince, although I never had any disrespect for him. I simply didn't listen to or buy his music. Unlike probably his former rival Michael Jackson, whose classic songs such as Got to Be There, Looking Through the Windows, I'll be There, Ben, Ain't No Sunshine, and many more which crooned the airwaves throughout the 1970's and became ingrained within my soul. 

Michael Jackson - great singer and musician

For readers who have been familiar with my blogs for quite a spell, I might have portrayed myself as a Republican. But in truth, unlike my late father who leaned in favour of a President as Head of State, I still believe that the Monarchical system has a stronger uniting power than a republic. But my father's argument was that a President has only the power set by the State's Constitution. If he performs badly, he can be kicked out. A monarch, no matter how cruel he may be, is entitled to the throne throughout his whole life, due to dynastic inheritance. Only a lynching can rid the country of him, as was the case with King Charles the First, in 1649 under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell and his troop of Roundheads.

But our Queen, unlike King Charles I, is - and always will be loved by the nation. Over sixty years of devoted duty, she has never wavered, but kept on with her service to the country. Her stoicism, a lack of public emotion, and her level of commitment as ambassador to the world has earned her respect. As with her Coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953, it is said that even the toughest captains of industry trembled with emotion as the crown was placed on her head by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since then whatever Her Majesty did, it was always surrounded with a huge show of pageantry. And it looks to me that no other ruler on Earth has a pageantry so grand as Queen Elizabeth II and her kinsmen. The national feeling, at least by a significant percentage of the population, is that the monarchical system could come to an end after her Majesty's death. By contrast, not only would King Charles reign would be comparatively short, but not so much of a national reverence is reserved for Prince William, second in line for the throne, due to his reputation of being work-shy and his enjoyment of royal privileges without engaging so much in the duties assigned for the role. 

So little wonder that when our Prime Minister David Cameron, while at Parliament, included the words: The Queen is our rock of strength, my head turned. No doubt that this was in reference to the political and national unity of our Constitution. By accompanying these words were: May she continue to reign (implying eternal rule) I couldn't help but believe that such wording belongs to God alone. 

But having said that, there is that possibility that our PM might have borrowed the words from the Old Testament book of Daniel, where the prophet is recorded in hailing King Darius: O King, live for ever! He then followed with: My God has sent his angels and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I done anything wrong before you, O king. (Daniel 6:21-22.) That, I believe is another way of saying: O king, you are forgiven! (for sentencing the prophet to death against his own will for apparently breaching a sham law.) Daniel did not refer to King Darius as the rock of strength, neither is such reference to another human being found anywhere in the Bible. God alone is the true Rock, Refuge, and a Strong Tower, and through him alone is the Universe, the Earth and all life within sustained.

But such references by a British politician is far from new or unique. For example, during the days of the Egyptian Pharaoh Cheops, a pyramid was built for his future entombment, as was with the case of former kings. Unlike that of previous theories from earlier archaeologists, it's now believed that the giant structure was not built with slave labour, but by paid workers who saw the king as no less than divine, that is, a god. By building the pyramid, salvation was not only secured for the king himself, but also for all the workers, possibly for the whole Egyptian nation. It was a classic example of salvation by works combined with mediator intercession, with the king himself serving as the bridge between the divine realm and the Egyptian people. With the king reigning for eternity, they too will have a chance to live forever.

The worldwide broadcasting of our nation's adoration of the Queen through pageantry couldn't have been more obvious than with the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 to mark her 60th year on the throne. Not only did the people by the millions line the banks of the River Thames to watch the passing floating procession, but the event was televised all around the world. As far as I can remember, I don't recall any other country broadcasting an event that comes any close to this - except of that of the funeral of former U.S. President Kennedy, after his assassination at Dallas in November 1963, something I recall watching on monochrome TV as an eleven-year-old. As with the Diamond Jubilee, no worse day could have been picked to hold such a celebration. It poured with rain throughout nearly the entire parade, with singers drenched to the skin, shivering as they sang their songs with such unwavering stoicism. Even the Queen and the Duke both looked ill-at ease, refusing to sit at the seats specially built for them, and it is said that the Duke developed a bladder infection soon after the parade.

The inclement weather, rather than being a stroke of very bad luck, has made my ponder whether God was trying to tell the whole nation something, including the Royals themselves. And that is, he is the Rock of Strength to the nation, and not the Queen. But I suppose, like the Egyptians of old, it would be a lot easier to worship a monarch who set no demands on her people than to serve a deity who is constantly demanding holiness through obedience to laws impossible to keep, with the threat of Judgement after death.

In other words, the Queen is perceived, worshipped and adored as our national saviour and intercessor before God, just as King Cheops was before. But in this country such statements is never heard, never admitted. But for our chief politician to come out with such a statement in public must have been acknowledged by the nation, as I have not come across a single jot or tittle against it anywhere in the media, whether it's the Press or TV.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is looked upon as a national and personal saviour and intercessor, in a sense replacing Jesus Christ as Saviour and intercessor before God the Father. That is endorsed by her role of Head of the Church of England, a title stolen from the Pope of Rome by King Henry VIII in 1531 in order to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon. As with the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen's Ninetieth Birthday came with the pomp confined to Windsor, but the Press was all over her, not just for the day, but for at least two days afterwards. 

One TV programme, which helped inspire me to write this article, is the BBC The One Show presenter Matt Baker. This hour-long daily chat show following the evening News hour invites celebrities into the studio as guests of a chat show. Baker normally presents himself casually dressed in open-neck shirt, although he may appear wearing a tie maybe once to three times a month, maybe not for several weeks during the Summer months. But on the evening of the Queen's Birthday, Matt Baker appears all dressed up in evening suit, shirt and tie. For me that says something. The deep relationship between adoration of the Queen and social class. If there is a country so obsessed with class, its the one which worship the Royals as mediators between themselves and God. This includes the notion that the higher the person's education, closer to the Queen he is, and henceforth gains greater respect. Like in the case of William Shakespeare, perhaps the greatest writer in all English history. Yet he always had his critics, right up to the present, who deny the authenticity of Shakespeare's writings because he did not attend a university. Yet does any reader know who these critics were, and are? No, not me either.

So the majority of the British will adore and uphold the Queen as their mediator.The majority vies to be closer to her by following her example, especially in the area of education, the only acceptable way to climb the social ladder, other than birth privilege. But as they do, many will slide into a lost eternity.