Friday, November 04, 2005

Editorial: The visit of Charles and Camilla to the USA

http://www.churchnewspaper.com/editorial.php

[The Church of England Newspaper] November 4, 2005--The task of the British monarchy is difficult indeed, and getting more so as it flirts with the cult of celebrity from time to time. The main role of the monarch is to exist above the realm of politics and opinion, in many ways simply to ‘be’ and so to symbolise a continuing strand of meaning and value in our state. Her Majesty the Queen has never put a foot wrong in this most awkward of vocations, and in many ways she is the greatest symbol of leadership around the globe today. She typifies a humility and restraint which is peculiarly British, over against the glitz and glamour of other monarchies and presidencies. She retains a popularity with the people, and even offers a counter-cultural model to the hedonism besetting society. She is clearly a Christian lay woman, for whom faith is at the core of her being and calling, and yet this too is not advertised in any way. Her Christian faith in no way denies the legitimacy of other faiths, and she is appreciated by millions of people in the UK but around the world in the Commonwealth. She has attained this status of respect and admiration by acting as a purely representative figure, rather than as an individual. The

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