British constitutional problems

The British constitution is a finely balanced structure of duties which has come under stress in recent months, especially following the decision of the Supreme Court which declared the Prime Minister’s prorogation of Parliament unlawful.

The UK Supreme Court itself is a constitutional innovation which was established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and took over responsibility from the Law Lords in October 2009. The Law Lords, officially known as the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, formalised ancient practice whereby the House of Lords was the final court of appeal, acting on powers derived from the Sovereign. Thus, before the pre-2009 reform, the ultimate court of appeal was within Parliament itself, which raises the question of whether it had the authority to question this action of the Prime Minister.

This throws up a further issue, which is that of the Sovereign who acts in person in Parliament. One step back from this is the question of where and how the authority of the British monarch is derived; the principle is that authority comes from God, through sacramental procedures which take place at a coronation, which commence with the swearing of a set of oaths and are followed by anointing with holy oil, presentation of the symbols of office: the orb, sceptre and crown, and clothing in the monarchical vestments. The coronation ceremonies take place within the context of a service of Holy Communion, they are analogous to priestly ordination and in their original form were modelled on the service for the consecration of a bishop. Their archetype is the anointing of Saul as King of Israel by Samuel the Judge, and of David’s successor, Solomon, by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet, a link which since the coronation of King George II in 1727 has been recalled by the singing of the anthem Zadok the Priest from Saul, the opera by Handel.

Zadok the priest And Nathan the prophet
Anointed Solomon king
And all the people rejoiced, and said:

God save the king, long live the king,
God save the king, may the king live forever,
Amen, alleluia, amen.

This raises more questions that I am competent to explore; the oaths set out the duties of the British monarch and summarise the monarch’s relationship to the people, but given the current state of Christian belief in Britain, how much longer can this finely balanced structure stand?