Hanscom - The Crown

This semester I started watching the Netflix series called "The Crown". The genre of the show is historical fiction, so it is all based off of real events and stories. I found it fascinating to learn about the lives of the royal family and the role of the monarch in Britain. Throughout the series, we mainly follow Queen Elizabeth's life and how she inherited the throne after the tragic death of her father, King George VI. At Elizabeth's coronation, the church performs a ritual that transforms Elizabeth into a Queen just as they did with King George's coronation. During this ritual, the pope anoints Elizabeth with holy oil on her hands, chest, and head. This ritual was so sacred, it was hidden from view from the rest of the audience by a canopy held over the Queen by four Knights. Thus, in a moment, Elizabeth is miraculously transformed into a Queen who was chosen and anointed by God to administer His justice on earth. 

I thought the Queen's role was very interesting, because as the Head of the Church, she is higher than the pope and all other church leaders. Even though her position holds a lot of power, she is not allowed to speak out politically or make her personal views public. Her role is to create this ideal image of a humble leader that submits to the authority of the government. It was cool to watch the episode when Billy Graham visits Britain and meets with the Queen. Billy Graham was one of the most powerful Christian evangelists in American history, and represented the American church within the nation and abroad. The Queen humbly asks for Billy Graham's advise on a matter regarding forgiveness during his visit. For me, this painted a beautiful picture of unity within the church regardless of position, status, or denomination. Both the Queen and Billy Graham authentically wanted to live out the call of God on their individual lives, even though it looks starkly different for them both. 

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