Sermon preached at St. Albright’s Stanway Parish Eucharist,

Sunday, 11^th September 2022

on the occasion of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The Rev. Tony Bushell, Priest in Charge.

(Lamentations 3.22–26, 31-33; 2 Corinthians 4. 16 – 5.4;

Psalm 121; John 6. 35-40.)

I begin with a well-known quotation:

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.”

The death of a sovereign is always a significant event. This is because it is the passing not only of a much-respected and admired person, as our late Queen most certainly was, but because it is about the end of a monarch’s reign and the start of a new one. That is why we have witnessed over the last two days or so a good deal of pomp, ceremony and officialdom. I was moved yesterday as I watched on TV the Accession Council, televised for the first time in history, and then the proclamation from the balcony at St. James’s Palace of the new King, Charles III. It may have seemed somewhat remote and grandiose, but it reminded us all of the essential continuity of the institution and of the monarchy. The Queen is dead, long live the King.

This is not in any way irreverent or disrespectful of her late majesty, whom we shall all miss greatly. And it does not interfere with the official and personal mourning that will continue. It reminds us that the office continues, no matter who bears the crown. This, it seems to me, accords very much with the character and approach of Queen Elizabeth, for in all the tributes that have been paid to her, and there have been many, one of the things that comes across powerfully was her humility. She was of course utterly dedicated to her role as Queen – hard working and diligent – but with a real interest in everyone that she met and in the places that she visited. She was in that sense a remarkable person, but I think she would be the first to say that the really important things were the crown itself and her people, her subjects if you like, that is you and me. She knew that she represented more than just herself when she carried out her numerous, extensive, and taxing official duties. She embodied so much more, and was, therefore a very significant figure of unity and nationhood.

So we celebrate and give thanks to God for someone who took on this immense responsibility, rather unexpectedly and without any choice on her part, and succeeded in fulfilling it so amazingly well, with a true sense of duty and ministry to and for others. That passage I quoted came from her address to the nation and Commonwealth in 1947 on the occasion of her 21^st birthday, and it says it all.

That sense of humility and compassion which she had came across very powerfully to me some years ago when a friend told me of an occasion when she went to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. She was with her father, who was a Presbyterian minister in a tiny chapel in an obscure part of north Wales. They were presented to the Queen who showed a real interest in this minister’s work and a deep understanding of the problems and challenges which he faced in his work. She listened carefully, fixing him with her keen, intelligent eyes as she did with everyone she met, and showed her great sense of humour too. I have no doubt that this was not an isolated example. She was a true servant of her people.

Of course we mourn her passing and we are sad at the loss of so amazing an individual. Her family and those close her must be grieving deeply too, and we should pray for them – that God will give them peace at this time. However, we must never forget amidst all the tears and sadness, and amidst all the tributes and adulation, what it was that really kept the Queen going. On Friday evening the Archbishop of York, interviewed on the radio just after a hastily organised service in the Minster, said that it was her Christian faith which was the source of all that she did. And she made no secret of this in her Christmas messages broadcast throughout the world, and in her countless meetings and engagements with people, both small and great. She was convinced that the God of our salvation, manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, was her strength and stay. It was the Spirit of the living God who enabled her to do all that she did, and in the way that she did it. This must have given her that humility and compassion of which I spoke, and motivated her hard work and dedication, her profound desire for justice, reconciliation and peace, and her understanding of the poor and disadvantaged.

It is that same Spirit that inspires us all and can lead us all, each and every one of us, in whatever situation we find ourselves in. The Queen found herself in an extraordinarily burdensome situation, but with prayer (she prayed every day and regularly received Holy Communion) and by trusting in God she came through and achieved marvellous things. We are unlikely to be called to such heights, but prayer, faith, and trusting in God will help us through too.

His Majesty King Charles in his very moving address to the nation on Friday evening paid tribute to his late mother and then, after referring to the importance of her Christian faith, finished with part of the Song for Athene, which sets words from Shakespeare and the Orthodox funeral service. It seems appropriate to end with them now:

“Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Amen.