Don’t lose majesty of the Coronation

BY HER clever and tactful use of the phrase ‘in the fullness of time’, the Queen has made it easier for the nation to think openly about the moment – unavoidable but, we hope, far off – when she will no longer be with us.

This did not merely permit her to end any controversy over whether the Duchess of Cornwall will be Queen Consort. It opened the way for many other discussions about what is to come. One such debate is about the shape and size of the next Coronation.

This astonishing ceremony, a thousand years old and now unique in Europe, is in many ways the keystone of our Constitution. It says what sort of country and people we are and exposes, for a few brief and moving hours, the actual foundations of our civilisation.

It is clear that after the turbulent decades since 1953, it cannot be precisely the same as it was then. Yet it must still contain the essence of its might, majesty, dominion and power. As we report today, this work has begun under the leadership of Prince Charles himself.

He will be keenly anxious to ensure that it remains Christian without excluding the other faiths now flourishing here. Empire has become Commonwealth.

The ancient nobility and the upperclass establishment which still dominated national life 70 years ago have gone, replaced by a far more complex and multi-layered order.

And, though many will be saddened to recognise this, the Monarchy can no longer put on such an extravagant show in these more egalitarian times.

The Mail on Sunday wishes the Prince well in this endeavour, but also urges him not to let the modernisers change too much.

It is all very well to keep up with the times, but some things are eternal, and best left well alone.