King's Coronation - What did a Senior BBC Employee See To Get Him Thrown Out?

Strange Anointment Ceremony

On Saturday, the coronation of King Charles III took place at Westminster Abbey. This service, steeped in tradition, has taken place in the building for almost a thousand years. But it is based on ancient rituals much older than the building itself and which strangely still take place in the supposedly modern world we live in today.

As you can imagine, to pull off an elaborate service like the one that occurred on Saturday, with the whole world watching, takes a lot of organising and rehearsal. King Charles himself took part in one of the rehearsals on Friday and whilst there, ordered that a senior BBC employee be removed from the building. Immediately afterwards the BBC’s on-site manager tore up the employee’s accreditation on the spot.

Why? What did the BBC employee do to justify being frogmarched from the premises?

You would think that with the millions of viewers watching the coronation, hiding something would be impossible. However, one of the most sacred parts of the coronation is hidden away from onlookers. The BBC employee had wandered from his official spot and was seen near where the sacred ritual takes place, apparently with his mobile phone out.

This ancient sacred ritual that nobody is allowed to see is called “the anointment”.

Traditionally, the anointment takes place under a canopy. This is what happened during Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953. Even then, however, as the anointment took place, the TV cameras turned to face the wall so that the public could not see what was happening.

This time, for some reason, Charles wanted even more privacy. He had a specially designed screen made to shield him from prying eyes.

So what happens during the anointment ceremony, what does it symbolise and as with so many things connected with the true power in this world, how is it linked to the City of London?

Before the King can be crowned, he must be anointed, the most sacred part of the coronation ceremony. The King removes his Robes of State and sits on the Coronation Chair wearing a white shirt, supposedly representing that he has come before God as a servant.

The Coronation Chair on which he sits, houses a large stone called the “Stone of Destiny” or the “Stone of Scone”. It weighs around 336 pounds (152 kilograms) and according to legend was used as a pillow by the patriarch Jacob when he had his vision of the ladder reaching to heaven. The stone was smuggled to Scotland and was used to crown Scottish kings before it was taken by the English King, Edward I, during the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1296. Since then, English and British monarchs have been crowned on the stone. For over 650 years it was housed in Westminster Abbey but was returned to Scotland in 1996 on the agreement that it is returned for coronation ceremonies.

Whilst the King sat above the Stone of Destiny, dressed in all white, “Zadok the Priest” was performed. This was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1727 and its lyrics are derived from the biblical account of the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the priest and the prophet Nathan, which can be found in 1 Kings 1:38-40. The lyrics emphasise the divine anointment and the transfer of power.

This is when things get hidden from public view. The traditional canopy overhead is meant to convey a sense of intimacy as the monarch experiences a profound spiritual transformation, being set apart from the rest of humanity and becoming a divinely chosen leader. However, as noted above, this wasn’t enough privacy for King Charles and instead a new screen was made.

The screen was gifted for the occasion by the City of London Corporation and City Livery Companies. During the service only personnel from Regiments of the Household Division that hold the Freedom of the City of London are allowed to hold the screen. Why during this most sacred ceremony, is the world financial powerhouse, the City of London, shielding the King from the public? For more on why this is relevant, read here.

The tree on the screen represents the 56 member countries of the Commonwealth. Above the tree are two trumpeting angels, announcing the coronation to both humans and God. At the base of the tree is the King’s cypher along with the words “All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well”. This is a quote from Julian of Norwich.

Julian or Juliana of Norwich was an English mystic from the Middle Ages and her works are some of the earliest surviving English language works by a woman. Aged 30 she became seriously ill whereby she received a series of visions of the Passion of Christ, the period before his death. She wrote that “God is nearer to us than our own soul” which is similar in meaning to the words on the screen - "Jesus answered with these words, saying: 'All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.' ... This was said so tenderly, without blame of any kind toward me or anybody else."

The screen is held up by wooden poles upon which are mounted two eagles cast in bronze and gilded in gold leaf.

Once firmly away from public view, the anointment takes place. The Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop of York anoint the King’s hands, chest and head with Chrism oil poured onto a spoon from the Ampulla. The Ampulla is a ceremonial vessel which holds the anointing oil and is shaped like an eagle, the symbol of St. John the Evangelist.

The Chrism oil used in the coronation was consecrated at a ceremony in The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in March 2023. It was created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of Ascension. The King’s grandmother is buried at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene. The oil is perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, amber and orange blossom.

Olive oil comes from the Mount of Olives which demonstrates the deep historic link between the Coronation, the Old Testament and the Holy Land. From the anointing of King Saul through to the present day, Monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place.

The Mount of Olives is attributed to the elite of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. The slopes have been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years. A number of key events in the life of Jesus took place on the Mount of Olives and is described as the place where Jesus ascended to heaven. Some of the olive trees in the area are thought to be almost 2,000 years old.

This ancient tradition of anointment has occurred since antiquity. There is evidence that the Egyptians anointed their Pharaohs.

The word “Messiah” comes from the Hebrew term meaning “the anointed one”. In the Hebrew Bible it is used to refer to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. The Greek translation of Messiah is “Christos”, from which we derive the word “Christ”. In Christianity, Jesus is referred to as the Messiah or Christ, indicating the belief that he is the anointed one prophesied in the Hebrew scriptures.

The question is, why is the King still taking part in such ancient rituals? (Actually, the question is, why do we still have a King but that is for another article). The answer given will of course be that it is just tradition. However, it is clearly deeper than that. Why did the King need such privacy? And what was going on behind the screen that meant a senior BBC employee was removed from the building?