A celebration of monarchy and nation
The Coronation of Charles III will be one of the greatest public events in our recent history, and the details that have been announced give a sense of its exciting scale and vision. On Saturday May 6, the King and Queen will process to Westminster Abbey for the traditional Coronation ceremony – “a solemn religious service”, as Buckingham Palace puts it, “as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry”. Their Majesties will process back from the Abbey along with other members of the Royal family, and appear on the Palace balcony.
The next day, the nation is invited to come together for a Coronation Big Lunch – teas, parties and other events – and, in the evening, to enjoy a Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle that will culminate in “Lighting up the Nation”, in which the night sky will be transformed with projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations. Finally, on Monday, the Big Help Out, organised by voluntary and faith groups, will encourage the public to get involved in their communities – to leave behind a legacy of unity and giving.
It is possible to detect in the plans for the Coronation a sense of the King’s distinctive approach, and of the likely character of his reign. The participation and representation of all (thousands of tickets to the concert will be available by public ballot) is evidently a priority. His Majesty is also a great believer in the power of voluntarism as an expression of religious charity. “Heartfelt solidarity,” he said during his first Christmas message, “is the most inspiring expression of loving our neighbour as ourself.”
Then there is the blending of old and new. The monarchy has survived, and flourished, by adapting to contemporary culture where appropriate while never forgetting its link with the past. In 1953, there was a debate over whether or not Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation should be televised. The wise decision that it should be placed this ancient ceremony into people’s very living rooms. But there was no qualification to the grandeur or the mystery of the occasion. The goal was not to remove any of the magic of the monarchy but to share it, reflecting the late Queen’s remark that she had to be seen to be believed.
We saw last year how royal ceremony still retains the capacity to draw people together, when thousands queued overnight to pay their respects to Elizabeth II and millions of people across the globe watched her funeral on television. No doubt, King Charles’s Coronation will similarly capture the world’s attention. This is what makes Britain unique, indeed great: the ability to progress into the future, into a whole new era, with the confidence and character bestowed by fidelity to our past.
Squandered reputation
By lacerating the economy with tax rises, the Conservatives have destroyed a political reputation for being on the side of hard-working people that took decades to build. An exclusive poll for The Sunday Telegraph finds that 49 per cent think the general level of taxation is too high. Astonishingly, the public also believes that Labour is more likely to fix it than the Tories – by 49 to 23 per cent.
Detail on what Labour would actually do in office has been kept deliberately vague, but we do know the party would make the energy windfall tax even more destructive, end non-dom status, and raid independent schools. Any one of these policies would damage Britain; put together, they would be devastating. And be in no doubt, Sir Keir Starmer would go further once elected.
On taxation, however, the Tories have unilaterally disarmed, rendering themselves incapable of making the intellectual or political case against further assaults on the taxpayer. Under the Conservatives, the tax burden is to rise to levels not seen since the end of the Second World War, and the Government has shown a particular genius for punishing its own voters, via absurdly high marginal rates on Middle England.
Such is the damage, it may take years for the public to see the Conservatives as a party of low taxation once again. But at the very least, the Chancellor should not compound the party’s errors in the Budget this spring. “Steady as she goes” will not cut it. If the public finances are indeed found to be in a healthier state than expected, Jeremy Hunt should use any windfall to cut taxation.
Best of British
Whoever wins the Australian Open, history will remember Sir Andy Murray’s gruelling, nearly six-hour match against Thanasi Kokkinakis that only concluded at 4.05 in the morning. Sir Andy, the winner, joked: “I want to go to bed now.” Aged 35, most of us would consider him a spring chicken; in sporting terms, he counts for a veteran, and one who has had hip surgery to boot. But Sir Andy is driven by an extraordinary work ethic, by a refusal to accept defeat.
He told Twitter that he had bumped into the doctor who had once told him that “the problem you have in your hip can be fixed but you won’t be able to play professional sport again”.
“I think we dispelled that myth,” wrote Sir Andy. As the Aussies say: “Good on ya.”